Bass-X
by RogueMage
Summary: * UPDATE * I figured out why there was no break between sections, which caused the story to jump. I'm fixing that right now, or I will be, at least. Meanwhile, enjoy chapters 21 - 23.
1. Signs From the Past

DISCLAIMER - All characters in this story are property of CAPCOM. The only exception to this is Bass-X. And even then, he's still just a modification of Bass from the original MegaMan series.  
  
NOTE TO READERS - This story takes place in the time frame between X4 and X5. There will be references to characters from X5, but those Reploids are new recruits in the Maverick Hunters.  
  
With that said and done, on to the story . . .  
  
BASS - X  
  
Chapter I - Signs From The Past  
  
"Well?" Zero asked, "Is it here or not."  
  
"Hold on a minute, I think I found it," replied X.  
  
"I still can't believe Dr. Cain sent us here, of all the possible places. This place feels like a tomb" Zero muttered.  
  
He and X were sent to the ruined lab of Reploid scientist Dr. Doppler. While doing a scan of the area at Maverick Hunter H.Q., a guard noticed computer activity deep with the destroyed complex. Dr. Cain immediately sent X and Zero to investigate.  
  
"Got it," exclaimed X. "Gosh, it sure is small," he said while holding up a small memory chip so Zero could see it.  
  
"Good," Zero said quickly, "Better get that back to the lab. I don't want to spend anymore time than I need to here."  
  
"Here's the chip you wanted, Dr. Cain," X said as he handed the chip to the leader of the Maverick Hunters.  
  
"Thank you, X. And you too, Zero," Cain replied, "Now I think I can begin my research on the Sigma Virus."  
  
Zero quickly asked, "What do you mean by that?"  
  
"Well," Dr. Cain explained, "unless I am mistaken than this is a memory chip from the late Dr. Doppler."  
  
"What!?!" Zero and X said in unison.  
  
"That little thing?" asked X.  
  
"Impossible," Zero remarked.  
  
Dr. Cain simply responded, "The only way too find out for sure is to insert it into a computer and have it replay the memory. I've set up one that's not connected to anything else, so if it is infected, then the virus will not spread."  
  
"Impressive, Doctor," X commented.  
  
"By the way, I have completed my course on advanced robotics at T. Light University. Now that I know how to make those other parts from X's original design, the new line of Reploids should be immune to the Sigma virus."  
  
"Finally, some good news," said X.  
  
"Oh, and before I forget. A few friends of mine were doing an archeological dig and found what appeared to be another capsule. I opened it about four hours ago. The design of this one seems almost identical to you, X. I've decided to put him under your command in the 17th unit. I'd like the two of you to show him the ropes."  
  
A new Reploid entered the room. The robot seemed familiar to X, but he didn't know how. This new hunter had black armor with orange highlights. He had purple markings on his face from the corners of his eyes to the hinges in his jawbone. There was a deep blue gem on his chest, and the dark blue crystal that contained his control chip was star-shaped. The Reploid's helmet had orange fins that started between his eyes and continued to the back of his neck. Zero also recognized this design, but not from a memory. The design of this one machine was familiar in the way that a human resembles his ancestors.  
  
"This," Dr. Cain introduced, "is Bass-X." 


	2. Friend or Foe

Chapter II - Friend Or Foe  
  
"Hello Zero, X," said Bass as he nodded to both of them, "I'm Bass. Dr. Cain has told me all about you. You're confrontations with this robot, Sigma, are incredible, to say the least."  
  
"Seems friendly enough, but can he fight?" X questioned as he examined the new Hunter.  
  
In the blink of an eye Bass was behind X with his buster pointed at X's head. Zero drew his Z-Saber and Bass backed off. "Do you think I can fight?" he asked them.  
  
"You just surprised me, that's all. When we get into the training room, then you'll see why I'm a unit leader."  
  
"Before you go," Dr. Cain interrupted, "I want you to know something. His buster seems to have been built differently than either of yours. This 'F- Buster' cannot charge. Instead it seems that it fires normal charges at an astonishing rate. Bass here can also use his propulsion enhancements to jump while in mid-air."  
  
"Enough talk," said Zero, "Let's go to the battle simulator."  
  
The battle simulator is a device in which a Reploid's conscious mind is temporarily uploaded so as to be able to fight and sustain extreme amounts of damage without going off-line. X and Zero had used it countless times to battle each other, but it was Bass's first time in it.  
  
"This is so weird," he said while examining himself. "So you said that this machine scans your body schematics and records them for later use?"  
  
"Yes," X replied in an annoyed tone of voice. Something about this Reploid made him feel uncomfortable.  
  
"So if I die, I'll just wake up outside of the machine?"  
  
"Yes"  
  
"So when do we start fighting?"  
  
"When Zero activates it from outside."  
  
The lights suddenly turned on. They were in a very large room, at least an acre across, and were on opposite sides of the room. X immediately took the offensive and jumped high into the air while charging his X-Buster and fired a huge blast of plasma at Bass. Bass dashed to the right to avoid the blast and jumped into the air too, except at the peak of his jump he kicked the air and flew even higher. He came down with his F-Buster blazing. X was amazed at the fire rate of his opponent's weapon, and in his moment standing in silent awe a barrage of projectiles hit him, causing a fair amount of damage. X slid out of the line of fire. Bass landed and looked around to see where X had gone. He heard a strong humming and turned around to see X's cannon aimed right at himself. A sphere of burning plasma engulfed Bass's body and the next moment he was back in Hunter H.Q.  
  
"Good job for a first battle," Zero complemented.  
  
X opened his eyes and was outside of the simulator looking at Bass and Zero. "That was pretty good, but you need to try to keep an eye on whomever you're fighting with. Not doing so can have devastating results, as you just found out," he informed Bass.  
  
"Thanks for the tip. I'll remember that."  
  
Zero was just looking at Bass. "You look familiar," he observed.  
  
"I don't know why I would. I only just met you," Bass said.  
  
"Well, all this may be well and good for the two of you, but I think we should be getting back to Dr. Cain to tell him about the outcome," X told them.  
  
"So, why exactly are we here."  
  
"Because Dr. Cain said he wanted me to see the place I was found."  
  
Bass had been sent to examine the site where his capsule had been found. There were no accurate maps of the area, but there were rumors that there was a lab here at the same time that Dr. Light was alive. X had been told to go along as well to make sure nothing happened to Bass.  
  
All of a sudden the ground crumbled beneath X and he fell down to what seemed like the remnants of the lab that was rumored to be here. Bass looked down from the top of the hole.  
  
"X, are you okay"  
  
"Yeah. Come down here and get a look at this."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Bass jumped down as well and looked around.  
  
"Where are we?" he asked.  
  
"I don't know. Let's look around for anything that Dr. Cain can use," X suggested.  
  
X went over to a computer terminal to see if it was still working while Bass shuffled through some papers on a desk.  
  
"This stuff has to be at least 50 years old. Look at the date on this."  
  
X came over and read the top line of the paper Bass was holding, "July 9, 2086."  
  
"Look at this one. Hey isn't this Zero?" Bass held up what appeared to be plans for four seperate reploids. Zero and Bass were in the middle, with a schematic of the original MegaMan next to Bass and some reploid with a visor and scarf next to Zero. "No wonder he said I looked familiar, It seems we were built by the same guy. But I didn't know Zero was built when you were, did you?"  
  
X was just staring at the system schematics. "No, I didn't. I'm going to check that terminal over there again." He walked back to the old computer in the wall.  
  
Bass followed him and saw that X had connected his fusion generator to the computer so it would have power. The monitor flickered on and X started looking in the database.  
  
"It's a wonder all this stuff is still working at all," he said.  
  
The screen went to a picture of an old man about the same age as Dr. Light was when he died. The man in the picture had spiky hair that stuck out on both sides of his head and had a large bald spot. The scientist in the picture had a matching moustache.  
  
"It seems this lab belonged to a 'Dr. Wily', who appears to be your run-of- the-mill mad scientist. Were you and Zero really built by this guy?" asked X as he turned to look at Bass.  
  
Bass was just staring at the image of Dr. Wily. The next moment a large 'W' flashed in the crystal on Bass's head and he jumped back and started shooting at X.  
  
"What the hell do you think you're doing!?!" X yelled as he slid out of the way. The F-Buster shots destroyed the computer just after it had ejected a disk with the contents of the hard drive.  
  
"Stop it!" X screamed at him. When no response came from Bass, he charged up his X-Buster and jumped out of the lab. The moment Bass jumped out of the lab, X shot him with Crystal Hunter, which he got from his second battle with Sigma. Bass froze in an instant and X took him back to Hunter H.Q. to be examined. 


	3. The Return of Doppler

Chapter III - The Return Of Doppler  
  
"This is an intriguing find," Cain commented as he examined Bass, who had been de-activated as a safety precaution. "This is the exact same problem I ran into when I reprogrammed Zero. The reason must be related to Dr. Wily. How much of the lab was damaged?"  
  
"The only thing he managed to destroy before I got him out was a computer terminal. I made a copy of the hard drive before he destroyed it," X explained.  
  
"Good. I may be able to figure out why he went maverick all of a sudden." Dr. Cain seemed to be talking to himself. "Sigma said he saw a 'W' flash on Zero's head when he first fought Zero. That was when Sigma was still a Hunter."  
  
X was baffled by this startling revelation about his friend. "I didn't know Zero was a maverick."  
  
Dr. Cain explained at length how Zero had destroyed an entire unit before Sigma had stepped in and smashed the control chip. Dr. Cain then had reprogrammed Zero to be one of the Maverick Hunter.  
  
"So that's why Bass went insane when he saw that photo of Dr. Wily. There must have been something in his memory chips that recognized the image."  
  
"Exactly," said Cain. "Oh, I have someone else for you to meet, X."  
  
The computer that the two were standing at came on and a picture of the late Dr. Doppler appeared. "Greetings, X. It has been a long time."  
  
"Doppler! You're alive!" X exclaimed.  
  
"Almost, X. Dr. Cain has yet to build me a new body. Until then I'm quite comfortable as a normal computer program. I have been working with him on this new Reploid, Bass. It seems that both he and Zero were carriers of the Maverick Virus. He didn't expose any wires, did he?"  
  
"No, I dodged out of the way before he could land a shot on me."  
  
"Perfect. The virus has been contained for further study. I believe we have neutralized it for now. Dr. Cain, could you please re-activate our friend here?"  
  
"Certainly," said Cain as he started fiddling with something in Bass's circuits. Suddenly the Reploid's eyes opened.  
  
"Where am I?" he asked.  
  
"You're in Maverick Hunter H.Q, Bass," X told him, "You went maverick while we were in Wily's lab."  
  
"I did? Sorry about that. Say, who's the dude with the funky beard?" Bass asked, referring to Dr. Doppler.  
  
"I am Dr. Doppler. The computer virus that was in you has been contained. You are ready to go back to active duty for now. However, you'll need to be evaluated in about a month."  
  
"Okay. Thanks, Doc," said Bass.  
  
"I'd appreciate it if you would call me Dr. Doppler," said the computer. 


	4. The Wily Wars

Chapter IV - The Wily Wars  
  
X, Zero, Bass, and Dr. Cain were all in the Officers Lounge of Hunter H.Q. Of course, why Reploids needed a lounge in the first place was a subject of much controversy, but the only nearby terminal with Level-8 security clearance was located there, so the three Reploids and Dr. Cain were there  
  
"These are the only records I could find when I went to Dr. Light's lab," Cain said. "They seem to indicate that Dr. Wily attempted hostile takeovers no less then eight times. A robot named 'Mega-Man', who was built by Dr. Light, and also was X's predecessor, was the one to stop Wily each time. The years in most of the files I found were faded, so I could only make out the first two digits of the year, 20XX. Apparently, Wily built a robot using Mega-Man's plans. He named this new robot 'Bass', who is most likely an older model of the Bass standing with us right here."  
  
Bass looked sullen. "So my only purpose was to destroy Dr. Light and Mega- Man?"  
  
"Actually, no," Cain said. "Dr. Wily somehow got wind of Light's plans to build an advanced robot with a true artificial intelligence and seal it away. According to records from Wily's lab, you were designed to destroy this newer Mega-Man. That is why you attacked X in the lab. Wily built Zero to kill Dr. Light, but didn't have enough time to see if he would obey all orders. My guess from the last of his notes is that Zero went maverick and not only destroyed Light and his lab, but killed Wily as well. Where Zero spent the time between then and his fighting Sigma a few years ago is beyond my knowledge, and when I re-programmed him, Zero lost all of his previous memories."  
  
"That's why I didn't remember being a maverick until Sigma told me about it," Zero said quietly.  
  
Dr. Cain looked at Zero with an expression of he most obvious pity. "Exactly."  
  
"So how is it that Dr. Light is able to help me even though he's been dead for fifty years?" inquired X.  
  
"From the notes, it seems that Dr. Light created a computer simulacrum and uploaded into the world data-net. That way, Light would have all of his memories up until the time the simulacrum was made, and he would be able to live to see X released into the world."  
  
"That would explain how I was able to ask him questions concerning my past when I found one of the capsules," noted Zero.  
  
"And how he knew about the war between us and the Repliforce," added X.  
  
"Yes, now if you look here at th--"  
  
Dr. Cain was cut short by the intercom.  
  
"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! MAVERICKS ARE ATTACKING RADDIX CITY! ALL UNITS CONVERGE!"  
  
"Aw, damn, not again," groaned X.  
  
"Hurry up. You heard Alia, we've gotta get to Raddix," ordered Zero as he ran out of the room.  
  
"Coming, coming," said Bass as he and X ran out of the Officer's Lounge after Zero, Dr. Cain hobbling after them. 


	5. A Dangerous Ally

NOTE TO READERS – Since no actual hair color has been specified for Bass, I had decided a while ago that he should have dark red hair. Every fan- author makes their own decision about this, so please don't e-mail me to say that it is purple.  
  
Chapter V - A Dangerous Ally  
  
"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! MAVERICK FORCES AT POINT 6923! ALL UNITS CONVERGE!"  
  
The Reploids working at H.Q. were frantic. Alia was yelling over the intercom the co-ordinates of Raddix City. There was yet another maverick revolt occurring. This was one of the largest yet. All units were sent to pacify the rebellion, but Special Force Unit #0 was told to stay at the command center.  
  
"We're the best unit Maverick Hunter has!" Zero yelled. "Why aren't we there too!"  
  
Dr. Cain was frantic. "Do you remember what happened the last time something like this happened? We were attacked and couldn't defend ourselves. You need to stay here."  
  
Zero started swearing profusely, but Dr. Cain stuck by his decision.  
  
"X! Bass!" yelled Signas, a relatively new officer at Maverick Hunter. "Your orders are to go to Raddix City and try to find the leader of this attack. Be prepared for the worst."  
  
"On our way, Signas," said X as he and Bass ran to the garage to get a pair of hovercycles.  
  
At Raiddix City, the renegade Reploids were wreaking havoc. The populace had been evacuated earlier, and now the Hunters were trying to suppress the raging mavericks. X and Bass were cornered by a giant robot they had been attempting to destroy, the smoldering wrecks of the two cycles about fifty meters away.  
  
X had to yell at Bass over all the noise, "Why is there always a giant machine after me on all of these missions."  
  
"You mean this isn't the first time?" Bass yelled back.  
  
At that moment a swift blow knocked X to the side and damaged his fusion generator. He couldn't teleport out of the fight. Everything was up to Bass now. And Bass seemed to be handling it rather well, but a closer examination yielded shocking results. It appeared that he was in some sort of wild rage, but X couldn't tell from what, and he was hitting the Reploid with blow after blow from his weapon. The maverick soon exploded from the torrent of flaming bursts being issued from the F-Buster. Bass immediately calmed down and went to get X. All X could do was gaze horrified at what just happened. It looked like Bass was enjoying fighting the maverick.  
  
That was too much for X to handle in his weakened state and he blacked out.  
  
"What happened to him?"  
  
"I don't know, he just fell over when I walked over to him. I got him back as soon as I could."  
  
"It's a good thing you did. He wouldn't have lasted another second out there."  
  
X slowly opened his eyes. Everything was blurry, but he could make out three figures above him.  
  
'That red one must be Zero,' X thought. 'And the blue thing is Dr. Cain, I'm sure. But who is the black guy? Oh, yeah. Bass.' "BASS!?!"  
  
X blurted out that last name. He remembered what had happened and sat up.  
  
"Dr. Cain! I need to tell you something about Bass!" he said.  
  
Cain was hesitant. He thought that X needed rest. "Okay, but make it quick."  
  
"I don't think Bass can be in the Hunters. Before I was knocked out, I'm sure I saw that Bass was enjoying destroying that Reploid. He's too dangerous to be in the Hunters."  
  
Dr. Cain laughed, "Don't be ridicules. Bass wouldn't act like that." He looked sternly at Bass. "Would you?"  
  
Bass looked nervous under the glare. "Uh, no. Of course not. You were just imagining things, X."  
  
'I sure hope so,' X thought to himself.  
  
Bass was confused. He was sure that X was imagining him 'enjoying destruction'.  
  
'I wouldn't do that. I'm not a monster. Am I?' Millions of questions were flooding into Bass's head. He took of his helmet and raked his fingers through his red-black hair. 'I was designed to be a war machine. So why do I deny my purpose? I've never known Dr. Wily, so why do I fear him? He isn't even alive. He died fifty years ago. So why am I afraid? What are these feelings?'  
  
Soon Bass was overwhelmed. He went to see Dr. Cain.  
  
"I see," said Cain in the way a psychiatrist explains to his patients that he understands, while not understanding whatsoever. "Well, why don't you take a few days to think it over. I'll send Zero in to speak with you. I believe he knows what you are going through."  
  
Bass didn't think stewing in his feelings would help, but what else was there to do? "Okay." 


	6. The End of Bass?

NOTE TO READERS – The Z-Buster that Zero uses is the one from X3, not the weak one from X5  
  
Chapter VI - The End Of Bass?  
  
Zero was waiting by the battle simulator. Cain had just contacted him via his transmitter and told him that Bass was coming.  
  
"Hey, Bass," he called as the black and orange Reploid turned the corner. "Doc told me you were on your way over."  
  
"Yeah, hi," Bass responded. Zero could tell something was bothering the new Hunter.  
  
"Care for a match?" Zero offered, indicating the simulator with a wave of his hand.  
  
"Sure, anything to get my mind off him."  
  
"Off who?"  
  
"Wily."  
  
Zero recoiled a bit at the sound of the name. It still brought chills when he thought about what had happened before Cain reprogrammed him. Zero could remember the fight with Sigma all too clearly as he put a hand on his Z-Saber, which once belonged to Sigma himself. He still had nightmares about it, and about the man with the odd hair. It had gotten worse after the revelation about his creator. The only thing that seemed to help was the simulator, which was why he and Bass were there right now.  
  
"After you," Bass said.  
  
Dr. Cain had set up this program as a training session for new Maverick Hunters. You would make your way through a Maverick revolt and be graded on how much damage you caused to the environment around you and how many people you save. 'Real-Life Training' as Cain put it. Get used to it in a simulator and the actual thing would be easier.  
  
"Zero, behind you!" Bass shouted as a Ball de Voux came spinning down the road.  
  
"I got it!" Zero yelled back as he let out a few shots from his Z-Buster. The Ball de Voux exploded in a pile of shrapnel. Bass looked down at it's remains and frowned.  
  
"Zero, come over here," he told the red Reploid.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
There's something I can't get over. I don't like doing this. Even if it's not real, I don't like destroying robots. Anything for that matter," Bass said quietly. "Yet something in me is telling me that I must, even if I don't want to, and it can't be good. There's no reason that I have to do this, but. . ." he trailed off.  
  
"Simulator, shut down the program," Zero said to nothing in particular, but the wrecked robot and buildings disappeared. They were out of the simulator and the doctor was hurrying down the hall.  
  
"I'm getting to old for this," said Cain, out of breath. "What's the matter, Zero?"  
  
Zero looked dead serious. "I don't know how to say this, but I think Bass needs to be shut down."  
  
"What!?!" exclaimed Bass and Cain.  
  
"Why?" asked Bass.  
  
"There's no reason," Cain said.  
  
"I believe," continued Zero, "that X may be right about Bass. We need to at least run a diagnostic to see if he's still a carrier of the Sigma Virus. I want to make sure."  
  
"Fine, there's no harm in that. I think," Bass said.  
  
"I'll get Doppler's opinion," Cain said quickly, "He's an expert at this, considering he was infected."  
  
Zero seemed slightly relieved. "Good, I don't want to take any risks, what with everything that's happened recently."  
  
Cain looked at the black hunter and said, "Bass, come with me."  
  
Zero watched them walk down the hall. Did I do the right thing? Maybe Bass should've decided on his own to get tested again. No, don't' try to fool yourself, Zero. Bass can't do anything right now. He needs all of the help he can get. 


	7. Sigma Revisited

Chapter VII - Sigma Revisited  
  
"No! This cannot be!"  
  
"Then what is, Doc?"  
  
"He has been destroyed, I made sure of that. Yet the evidence of his existence is overwhelming."  
  
"I know what you mean. Me and X have gotten rid of him four times already, at least."  
  
"Let me see that," said a new voice.  
  
Dr. Doppler and Zero were going over the results of Bass's tests. The dark armored Hunter was crouched in a corner, apparently asleep, but closer examination revealed that he was de-activated at the moment. The new person speaking was Dr. Cain, who had just walked into the room.  
  
Zero jumped a bit into the air at the sudden interruption. "Whoa, don't do that. You startled me."  
  
Cain was very impatient. He had just been speaking with X about the recent Maverick revolt and X immediately thought Sigma was behind it all. Being who he was, it was impossible to convince X that he could have been mistaken.  
  
"Just let me see that data."  
  
"Okay, sir," replied Zero. "Doppler, could you display Bass's Maverick infection results?"  
  
"That's Dr. Doppler," sighed the computer as a close-up of Bass's memory banks appeared on screen.  
  
"That's interesting. I don't recognize that pattern of programming," muttered Cain as he stroked his abnormally large beard. "Dr. Doppler, would you please do a search for the program in cluster MD-10132?"  
  
"I've been telling Zero for the past half hour, that's Sigma's program."  
  
"And I know for a fact that about half of that is wrong for the Virus. See that right there? Cain could never have understood that enough when Sigma was built to put it in."  
  
"Sigma can alter his program to suit his needs. He wasn't originally compatible with the Kaiser Body I designed, so he changed his operating parameters."  
  
"This is too complex. That much alteration would destroy Sigma entirely . . ."  
  
The arguing went on for about ten minutes before Dr. Cain, becoming more agitated by the moment, lost his temper.  
  
"WILL YOU SHUT UP!" yelled the enraged scientist. "How can we get anything done when the two of you are constantly bickering about computer code!?! Just be quiet for a minute so I can study this!"  
  
After what seemed like hours Dr. Cain looked away from the schematics.  
  
"This appears to be the original program for the Maverick Virus."  
  
"Don't you mean Sigma Virus?" inquired Zero?  
  
Cain turned his attention back to the screen. "No, Zero, I mean Maverick Virus. When you infected Sigma, the file altered itself to cope with a stronger host. Eventually Sigma managed to further change the Virus to help in his conquest. In doing so, it became something else entirely. The program we call the Sigma Virus. Tell me if this becomes redundant."  
  
Zero, who had become bored during Cain's endless droning, had fallen half asleep and began to snore loudly. "Yeah, yeah . . . I like cookies . . . Back up the truck," he said in his sleep.  
  
Cain walked over to the red Reploid and whapped him sharply on the head with his cane. "Wake up! I need you to look at this," ordered Cain as he turned around. "Dr. Doppler, do you have that file?"  
  
"Yes, sir. Here it is," answered the robot scientist as another file was displayed beneath the first.  
  
"Thank you, Doctor," said Cain as he pointed out various sections of the two viruses to Zero. "This here is what causes the Reploids to become berserk, but notice how in the more recent version that code is different. It allows those infected to think clearly, with the exception that they want to eliminate the human race."  
  
"Interesting, but hoe does this affect me?" question Zero, beginning to yawn.  
  
"Doppler's anti-virus was designed to capture the Maverick Virus, but Sigma had altered the program too much, which explains why he escaped. Our friend Bass is a living carrier of the virus, which means that I may be able to produce a more effective antidote for the Sigma, which could, in theory, bring him back to our side."  
  
X had just stepped into the room at this point and heard the last sentence of Dr. Cain's brief speech. The prospect of having Sigma as a good guy was unbelievable, and X passed out again as his logic comprehension circuits overloaded. 


	8. The Truth Takes Flight

Chapter VIII - The Truth Takes Flight  
  
"Maybe X is the one who needs to be released from the Hunters," said Zero as he rushed over to the blue robot who was no unconscious on the ground.  
  
"No, that won't help, Zero. The last thing we need is to discharge one of our best," said Cain as he hurried after Zero. "Dr. Doppler, could you re-activate the diagnostic program. We need to scan X for possible damage to his circuitry."  
  
"Yes, sir," replied Doppler.  
  
About a half-hour later, X was on the scanner, still out cold. Cain had removed X's helmet and artificial skin, and was attaching numerous wires to ports in X's plate metal skull. Doppler was on a nearby computer screen going over X's schematics.  
  
"This doesn't make any sense. It seems that X's logic circuits blew out," muttered Doppler, "but there's no explanation why."  
  
"When did X enter the room?" asked Cain.  
  
"When we were talking about the antidote. Why do you ask?" replied Zero.  
  
"So he heard us saying we could reprogram Sigma?"  
  
"It would seem so."  
  
"That would explain it. X didn't hear the whole conversation, just the bit about Sigma returning to the Hunters. It made no sense what-so-ever to him, so his circuits blew."  
  
"Yes, that would make sense."  
  
"It depends whose perspective your taking. Dang!"  
  
At that moment Cain hadn't been paying attention to what he was doing and got a zap from X's generator. Luckily, he hit a part of X that needed very little energy, so he didn't much of a shock.  
  
"There, he's hooked up. Run the diagnostic, Dr. Doppler," ordered Cain as he sucked on his now bright red finger.  
  
"Okay," said Doppler.  
  
The wires started to glow brightly as energy was transferred from X to the computer. Copies of self-diagnostics appeared on some monitors while scans of programs began to glow on others. Cain looked at all of the screens until he suddenly let out a brief yelp of surprise.  
  
"Doppler," Dr. Cain yelled, "Get Zero and Bass in here at once."  
  
"What is that?"  
  
"How should I know?"  
  
"Maybe it's a virus."  
  
"No, it can't be."  
  
"Not one that we know of, at least."  
  
"SHUT UP!"  
  
Dr. Cain was showing the others what he found in X's program. Unfortunately, they were all jumping to conclusions and making up theories about what the defect could be. After trying to get a word in edgewise multiple times, Cain had gotten very upset and started shouting.  
  
"Listen up, already," said the doctor as he glared at everyone to maintain silence. "I've figured out what this is, and I would gladly tell you if only you could stay quiet for a moment."  
  
By now Zero, Bass, and Doppler were all paying attention to Cain.  
  
"This odd formation is not a virus. It appears to be the antidote."  
  
"What!?!" yelled the three Reploids.  
  
"It's true. I copied the program and inserted it into a Maverick that we have in custody. Within minutes he regained his composure and was willing to talk to us, and there was no trace of any viruses."  
  
"How did that happen?" asked Bass.  
  
"Well, Bass, it seems that upon meeting you, X's system recognized an enemy and started producing antibodies to protect itself. That's why X never trusted you as much as even Doppler. He somehow knew that you were dangerous to him in some way. My guess would be possible transference of the virus."  
  
"Yeah, I guess," said Bass as he sat down at one of the terminals. "But I was never going to hurt him, so why did he start producing the antidote. I'm sure that Doctor Light didn't know that Wily was creating me."  
  
"I might know. When I've run diagnostics in the past, I sometimes found memory files that were decades old, ones that could never have occured because of how little time has passed since he came out of the capsule. This leads me to believe that X is not just built to resemble the original MegaMan, but is the actual unit himself. It would explain how he reacted to you. When Zero attacked Light's lab X was already in stasis, which is why he trusted him more than you. He'd never seen Zero even though they were in the same room."  
  
Bass was typing quickly at his console. The words were passing on the screen too fast for anyone to catch. After a few minutes Bass stopped at a file that had been passed over by the diagnostic program. "Is this what you meant when you said old memory files?" asked Bass as he opened the file. A movie played on the screen. There was a lot of static, but Bass could clearly be seen next to some sort of robotic wolf. Bass and the wolf started to glow brightly then merge together. When the light subsided, Bass had wings and took off into the air. The video cut off.  
  
"Odd, I've never seen that one," said Cain.  
  
"That's because it's one of my own. I altered it to show from a third-person perspective. This is from a diagnostic that I went through right before I was shipped here. I can show you the original, if you want."  
  
"Yes, I think that would help," Doppler said from one of the other moniters.  
  
"Okay, but this is going to be from my eyes picturing MegaMan," Bass stated as he typed some more on the console. A new movie opened, with just as much static as the last one. The original MegaMan was shooting at the camera. The camera shifted down to look at the robot wolf, then looked back at MegaMan. The screen went white for a moment and the view shot up into the air. Looking from above, MegaMan was talking into his wrist. A red dog teleported in and a similar sequence as with the last movie occured, ending with a MegaMan with wings taking flight.  
  
"That's least fifty years old, the end of the Wily Wars to be specific," said Bass.  
  
"So he is the original MegaMan. That's why there are hookups on his back for some upgrade we've never found."  
  
"There are?" asked Zero.  
  
"Yes, take a look at this," said Cain as he removed a plate of metal from X's back. There were multiple ports there and a direct connection to the fusion generator. "Bass has a similar port on his back, but it seems designed for something bigger. Doppler, can you design jetpacks or something similar that can be hooked up to these ports?"  
  
"I believe so, but it would be easier with the original schematics."  
  
"I'll go back to Wily's lab to look for them," offered Bass.  
  
"I'll go too, we don't want him to freak out again."  
  
"Just a moment, I want to give Zero the vaccine," said Cain.  
  
"What about me?" asked Bass  
  
"We're going to need you when we give Sigma the antidote."  
  
"Wait," said Zero, "how are we going to get Sigma injected with the Vaccine?"  
  
"We will need someone who Sigma doesn't know, but feels he can trust," answered Cain, as he turned to look at Bass again. "Someone who has the Virus." 


	9. Return to Wily's Fortress

Chapter IX - Return To Wily's Fortress  
  
"So this is where I was built?" asked Zero as he jumped down the hole that led to Wil'ys lab.  
  
"Yep. Sorry about the mess, it's from the fight me and X had," said Bass as he followed the red Hunter.  
  
"I understand, it's because of some back-up program you had. Cain de- activated mine right before I joined the Hunters. So where were those schematics you were talking about?"  
  
"There were on one of the desks. Somewhere around here. They should be intact because the only really damage done was to that terminal," said Bass as he indicated a lump of melted metal in one of the walls.  
  
"That was a computer? Must have been one hell of a fight," said Zero when he looked at the remains of the console.  
  
"Just look for the schematics," said Bass as he rumaged around through a pile of papers.  
  
"I found one for MegaMan," said Zero, holding up a piece of paper. "What is this doing here?"  
  
"Wily stole that. I was built to be Wily's own MegaMan. It would seem that you're based off of Light's work as well, take a look at this one," Bass said as he handed a sheet of paper to Zero. It was the paper with four Reploids on it. "The one on the end must be ProtoMan. He was considered to be MegaMan's brother. He had red and grey armor, like you do. Wily made most of his robots using stolen plans from Light, so finding this around the lab makes it all the more likely that you were ProtoMan, or at least based off of him."  
  
"That could be a reason X trusts me more, but I don't have any old memory files."  
  
"Then you were based off of him. You were built to destroy Light's Lab. ProtoMan must have been alive back then because he managed to defend the place long enough for Light to hide X's capsule. If you were the original ProtoMan, then Light would never had hidden X."  
  
"How do you know all of this?" asked Zero.  
  
"It's an educated guess," replied Bass while he picked up the final schematics of himself. "The similarities between you and ProtoMan are obvious, and from the journal entries we found here Wily had started building you before Light started on X. You would have been sent to kill Light while he was finishing X, so to have completed and hidden him meant someone was guarding the lab. That would be ProtoMan."  
  
"It sounds like that makes sense, but when you think about it then all of us are related. X is the original, you're a different model of X, and I'm a recreation of X's brother."  
  
"That makes one hell of a family reunion."  
  
"We've been down here long enough, let's go back to the suface."  
  
"I've got everything we need. My plans, your plans, and X's should be programmed into the capsule." Bass jumped out of the hole in the ceiling.  
  
"Wait, what's that?" said Zero as he pointed to some light shining from one of the halls.  
  
"What's what?" asked Bass, looking down from the hole. He noticed the light. "Could someone be in here?"  
  
"Maybe, but who's authorized to be down here other than us."  
  
"Only one way to find out." Bass jumped down from the ceiling and took off down the hallway. Soon he and Zero reached the source of the light. A skeleton wearing a tattered white lab coat was on the ground with a large hole in the ribs. A purple wolf lay on a table nearby. A light was shining on the wolf.  
  
"Doctor Wily, I presume," said Bass as he looked at the skeleton. The coat had a W on the front pocket, and the hole in the ribs looked like it had been caused by a Buster shot.  
  
"This place is fifty years old! How could a generator from back then last this long?" asked Zero.  
  
"The power must have come back on when X jumpstarted the system last time we were here." Bass was looking at the skeleton on the ground. Zero raised his Z-Buster, intending to shoot Bass if he went maverick. Nothing happened, Bass just turned away from the skeleton and started to examine the robot wolf on the table. Zero lowered his buster and looked at the robot on the table as well. It seemed near completion, and an open capsule was nearby. Wily was apparently going to put this wolf inside of it to come out with Bass.  
  
"Hey, doesn't that wolf look like the one from you memory file?" said Zero.  
  
"Yeah, it does. We should take it back to Doctor Cain, he might be able to do something with it." Bass picked up the wolf and held it over his shoulder.  
  
"Okay, fine," said Zero as he looked down at Wily's skeleton. "This place is creeping me out, especially that thing. Let's get out of here." 


	10. New Mission Briefing

Chapter X - New Mission Briefing  
  
"This is absolutly amazing! You say this was in Wily's lab? I'll need to study this further. Doppler, run the AI testing program." Cain was overjoyed with the discovery of the robot wolf. Zero had taken the liberty of looking up Bass' presence during the Wily Wars and discovered that the wolfs name was Treble. X had woken up, and was being briefed by one of Doppler's proxy programs. At the moment Cain was working on Treble and asking Bass questions about it's discovery.  
  
"Yeah, he was by Wily's corpse. It seems that Treble was almost finished, but Zero had killed him before it could be placed in the capsule."  
  
"You found his corpse?"  
  
"Yep. He still had a fusion cutter in his hand."  
  
"Simply amazing! This is almost too much to bear. Bass, could you go speak with X? I think it would be better if you tell him what our plan to get Sigma is."  
  
"Yes, sir." Bass left the room and headed down to the simulator. X was sure to be practicing his moves after being out of action for so long. Sure enough, he was plugged into the simulator, the screen showing the all too familiar 'Abandoned Highway' scenario. Bass sat down in the chair next to X and plugged the transfer wires into a port in the back of his head. Suddenly the room went white and when his vision cleared Bass was on the highway.  
  
There were always a few bugs if a Reploid entered the simulator while someone else was using it. Most of the time the simulator would try and increase the difficulty to account for the extra user, but making it a few levels too high. Additionally, the new Hunter would teleport in far away from the rest of the group. Bass looked around and saw a blue figure off in the distance. That must be X, thought Bass as he dashed off towards the energy blasts. Luckily, X was heading toward him instead of away, so the trip over was much shorter than it could have been. A Ball de Voux was sneaking up on X.  
  
"Hey, X! Jump!" yelled Bass as he shot a bunch of rounds at the Ball de Voux. X jumped and the Ball rolled under him with a stream of plasma right behind it. The Ball de Voux exploded and X landed by the steel husk. He turned around to look at who had warned him.  
  
"Oh, hello Bass. I was wondering who had warped in, there are at least three times as many mavericks as there should have been."  
  
"Cain wanted me to brief you on the next mission."  
  
"Doppler already did that."  
  
"Cain wanted me to tell you personally, as your not going."  
  
"What?" X said in surprise. A Bee Blader took this opportunity to come up behind them and shoot a missle into X's generator. Bass shut down the simulator and he and X opened their eyes back at HQ.  
  
"You're not going on the next mission," Bass said as he took the wires out from the back of his head.  
  
"Then who is?" asked X.  
  
"I am."  
  
"And who's your partner for this one."  
  
"No one, I'm going solo."  
  
"What! You can't go solo! There's never been a single mission where Cain has allowed us to go solo!"  
  
"What about the infiltration of the X-Hunter base?"  
  
"Cain was going to send Zero in as soon as possible."  
  
"Do you really think that you will ever be able to get Sigma to trust you?"  
  
"Huh? What are you saying?"  
  
"This is no ordinary seek-and-destroy mission. I have to sneak in and speak directly to Sigma, get him to trust me. I've got to become his right hand man, his most trusted ally. That's something you could never do, not with your history."  
  
"Sigma will destroy you! No one that he doesn't know can get close to him without getting killed!"  
  
"You remember how he knew that Zero was one of Wily's creations? If Sigma knew that, he's bound to know that a Reploid built by Wily was built. He'll know that I won't hurt him. And once I've been with Sigma long enough to gain his trust, I hit him with the antibody. If any scans are done to my systems, it will show I have the original Maverick Virus, further proof that I am one of the doctor's own."  
  
"What if you go Maverick?"  
  
"Then I guess we'll have ourselves quite a fight, won't we. Remember, those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it, so keep watching the memory file of the fight that the original MegaMan and Bass. That's one thing we never want to forget."  
  
"Okay, It makes enough sense that only you can do this. But we don't know where Sigma is."  
  
"You missed a lot while you were conked out there. One of the newer Hunters, I think her name is Alia, found odd energy readings coming from the North Atlantic. Sigma's base is going to be around there somewhere. I've got to go back to the lab now. Cain should be done with the repair work on Treble."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Check the mission report for the second trip to Wily's Fortress." Bass ran down the hall towards Cain's lab. He and Doppler had finished their work on Treble, who was currently activated and growling at anyone who came near.  
  
"We must have done something wrong," said Doppler from one of the screens, "It attacks anything we send at it."  
  
"Let me try," said Bass.  
  
"Don't! It'll rip your arm off!" warned Cain.  
  
"You seem to have forgotten that Treble was built to follow my orders. See?" Trebble was sitting calmly now as Bass stroked his head. "I don't think that he'll attack unless I tell him to."  
  
"That's all well and good, Bass, but we need to train you to work with Treble," said Doppler from one of the consoles. "There should also be some function to let you fly using Treble, but we have no idea how to do that yet."  
  
"Don't worry, Doc. We have plenty of time to do that."  
  
"I should hope so. It appears that Sigma used most of his resources on the attack in Raddix, so it will take some time before he can launch a full assault."  
  
"Bass, take Treble to the simulator," said Cain, "See what abilities he has."  
  
"Yes, sir," Bass replied. He walked back out of the room with Treble at his heels. 


	11. Test Flight

Chapter XI - Test Flight  
  
"What can you do, anyway?" asked Bass. He and Treble were using a program in the simulator that emulated an open plain. The surrounding area was utterly featureless, so as not to distract trainees, as this program was usually used for basic combat training. "Well? Can you do anything?"  
  
The wolf sneezed.  
  
"Yeah, that's very useful," Bass rolled his eyes. "Load unit 34-RX9 'Ball de Voux.'" Bass ordered the simulator. It appeared and began to spin around menacingly. "Treble, attack!"  
  
The wolf charged towards the Ball and opened his mouth. A bright blue energy beam shot out, severely damaging the Ball. the Ball fell over and Treble slowly approached it. When the Ball jiggled a bit Treble picked it up in his mouth and threw it into the distance.  
  
"Okay, so you can attack. Now we need to figure out how the heck these ports work. Simulator, end training." Bass and Treble woke up outside of the machine. He disconnected himself and the wolf and walked back to Cain's lab. Cain's new project was on one of the work benches. "Hello, Cain. You've finally started on Doppler's new body?"  
  
"Yes. I must admit it took a while to start, what with everything that has happened recently, but with Doppler himself helping I should be done in no time."  
  
"That's good to hear, but where is Doppler, anyway?"  
  
"Oh, he's looking at the schematics of you and Treble, trying to find out how you two merge together."  
  
"Great, I was about to ask how that was coming along."  
  
"Go check in the archives, Doppler should be there studying the plans."  
  
"Thanks, Cain." Bass walked down the hall towards the archives. It was surprising that in the short amount of time he'd spent at HQ, Bass had learned the layout of the entire building. He got to the archives in only a few minutes. "Doppler, are you here?"  
  
"Yes, in the back. Is Treble with you?"  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"I think I've figured out how the Treble Boost works."  
  
"The what?"  
  
"That's what I've decided to name the merging technology you have."  
  
"Okay, so what have you found.  
  
Doppler appeared on one screen and some blueprints appeared on another. "I sent an excavation team to Wily's Fortress and they found this. It shows in great detail how exactly the Treble Boost works, and some sort of command that activates it. This would be better tested outside of the simulator, I don't think it could handle to separate entities merging. Go up to the rooftops, I'm sending X and Zero to make sure that there are no problems."  
  
"Got it, but what's the activation command?"  
  
"Boost."  
  
"What?"  
  
"The activation command is 'boost'. That's where I got the name."  
  
"Okay. Are X and Zero already on the roof?"  
  
"No, but they know that your going to attempt this today. Go find them, they're expecting you."  
  
"Yes, sir." Bass and Treble left the archives and headed towards the rooftop. X was sure to be there already, no matter what Doppler had said. Zero might be up there already as well, but there was no way to be sure except to go up. Opening the doors to the roof, Bass saw X standing by the edge, looking out towards the horizon. Zero was fiddling with his Z-Sabre about five feet away. They turned at the sound of the door opening. "Hello, guys. Aren't you a little early?"  
  
"No, of course not," said Zero as he stood up, sheathing the Z-Sabre.  
  
"Why do you say that?" asked X.  
  
"No reason," Bass replied. "So you're the witnesses of this momentous occasion?"  
  
"Yep," answered X.  
  
"Are you ready?" asked Zero.  
  
"Of course I'm not ready. I just met Treble, I have no idea how powerful he is, and the only clue to what we're going to try is a fuzzy video over fifty years old. I'll never be ready, so I might as well try it now."  
  
"That's the spirit, Bass," said Zero as he patted him on the back. "There's no time like the present."  
  
"We'll just get out of your way," said X. "No point in us getting harmed if you blow up."  
  
"Very funny, X. Treble, come here." The wolf trotted over to Bass. X and Zero backed away, Cain had warned them about Treble's attitude towards everyone. Bass closed his eyes, he was deep in concentration. His eyes suddenly shot open and yelled into the air.  
  
"TREBLE BOOST!"  
  
X and Zero had to shield their own eyes from the intense light emanating from Bass and Treble. From what they could see, Bass had crouched down and Treble seemed to dive into his back. Another flash of light and the merge was over. X and Zero lowered their arms and looked at Bass. All the orange parts had turned purple, and the fins on his head ended in spikes. Two wings folded out of his back.  
  
"Whoa," said X.  
  
"Damn," replied Zero.  
  
"You've got that right," Bass said. "This is just cool. Look at me, I've got wings!" Engines in the wings flared to life and Bass rose of the ground about fifteen feet. "Aah! Help! How do I get down!"  
  
"So much for graceful," said X, laughing his head off.  
  
"Hold on, Cain told me what to do if this happened," Zero said. He pulled out his Z-Sabre and activated it. Instead of the usual beam, a long green pole came out. Zero pointed it at Bass. "Here, grab on!"  
  
"No way! I'll get my hand burned off!"  
  
"I altered it so the plasma is completely contained. You won't get hurt."  
  
"For your sake, I hope your right," Bass said as he tenderly grabbed hold of the Z-Sabre. He climbed down it and hovered a few inches off the ground. "Now what? I'm still floating."  
  
"Just turn off your engines. It should act the same way your Buster does," X said.  
  
The engines cut off and Bass landed on the ground. There was another flash of light and Bass and Treble were separate again. "X, flight is nothing like it's cracked up to be," said Bass right before he collapsed to the ground.  
  
"What happened to him, Doctor Cain?"  
  
"He overloaded his generators, X. It would probably be best if he practiced a before going on an actual mission"  
  
"I think his eyes are open"  
  
"Huh? Oh, they are! Bass can you hear us?"  
  
"Fluffy bunnies make bad pets."  
  
"And his eyes close. He must have taken quite a hit to his systems, if he's acting like this."  
  
"I'll have him recharged shortly. You two just go back to whatever you were doing."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Yay! Back to playing MegaMan!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"They made a video game based on MegaMan years and years ago. I managed to get a copy of it."  
  
"This I've got to see." 


	12. Support Units for Dummies

Chapter XII – Support Units For Dummies  
  
Bass was in the simulator, with his wings. Doppler had figured out that if the body schematics of Bass with the boost activated were uploaded into the simulator, then he would be able to access it without merging with Treble. Of course, this worked only in the simulator, but it was a good way to practice. Right now, he was having trouble aiming his buster, as it kept shooting in three directions at once. A voice started coming into the simulator. It was Doctor Cain's.  
  
"Bass, can you come to the Advanced Reploid Research wing? And bring Treble with you."  
  
Bass sighed. The ARR was notorious for almost always creating Hunters that go Maverick. In fact, the head of that wing, Gate, had diagnostics run on him on a regular basis to make sure that he didn't have the Virus. Despite its poor reputation in Reploid production, though, Cain often used the technology that they came up with to create less aggressive, more stable Reploids. He reached the wing in a rather short time, but Cain was agitated nonetheless. Gate was standing next to him, looking somewhat uninterested, but turned when he heard Bass come in.  
  
"Ah, so you must be Bass," said Gate, "Cain just told me about you. Very little is known about you here. You wouldn't mind telling us a bit about your history, would you?"  
  
"You'll have to excuse my friend Gate," interrupted Cain, "He's usually very quiet. I don't know why he's so talkative all of a sudden."  
  
"Hush up, old man."  
  
"He also treats everyone but his closest friends like dirt."  
  
"Now that's not true. I just treat you like that," Gate said with a laugh. "Anyway, we've been examining your schematics and X's to try and figure out how to make a jetpack. Unfortunately, we can't get enough information from them to make a jetpack that can hook up to X's systems."  
  
"Why don't you just check Light's lab for that little red mutt?" said Bass.  
  
"We did that. The only thing to be found was a twisted lump of red metal. My guess is that Rush didn't survive the attack"  
  
"Ick. So am I right in guessing that you want to start tinkering with Treble here?" the wolf raised his head at the mention of his name.  
  
"Just to get a basic idea of how he hooks up to your system," said Gate, eyeing the now cautious wolf. "Besides, this could revive the technology of support units."  
  
"What do you mean by revive? Sigma had a support unit, Velgauder."  
  
"That wasn't a true support unit. Velgauder was just a dog-shaped Reploid with limited intelligence. More like a pet."  
  
"It's up to Treble whether of not he's willing to be tinkered with." The wolf looked up again at Bass, and after standing still for a moment he walked over to Gate and sniffed at his hand. He then turned around and barked at Bass,  
  
"Odd," said Bass, "he doesn't walk over to anyone like that unless I tell him to."  
  
"I guess he's willing to have the tests done," said gate, patting Treble on the head  
  
"Okay, I guess. Call me when you're done," Bass said, not taking his eyes off of Treble.  
  
"Come on Bass," said Cain, "You have other matters to attend to."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
Zero said that Bass would need training against an opponent armed with a plasma sword, though so far Sigma has used a different weapon at each battle. So far, he had used a sword, claws, a shield, and a scythe. So Bass spent the next few hours training against Zero. However, hose few hours were all in a single battle, and a crowd was drawing at the viewscreen of the simulator. Douglas was taking bets on who would win, while the leaders of the various units were thinking of asking Cain to have Bass transferred from the 17th.  
  
"Hell," said one of the leaders, "Anybody who can last this long against Zero might as well have a unit himself."  
  
"Yeah," said another, "But isn't that the guy going solo in the next mission?"  
  
"I think so. Hey, look!"  
  
They turned back to the viewscreen and saw Zero on the ground. Bass was standing over him, and had the Z-Sabre pointed at Zero's throat.  
  
"Do you yield?" asked Bass.  
  
"Yeah, sure, just point that somewhere else!"  
  
The viewscreen turned off and Bass and Zero opened their eyes. Douglas and the people who bet on the match were in disagreement over who won. Those who sided with Bass said that the black Reploid had won, while those who bet on Zero said that it ended in a draw. Douglas, who couldn't stand being in the middle of the argument, gave everyone their money back and scuttled off to the hanger.  
  
"What was that about?" wondered Zero.  
  
"No idea," said Bass.  
  
"Bass," said a transmitter on his wrist. "We're done with Treble. Come to the ARR wing."  
  
"The ARR? What does Gate want with you?" asked Zero  
  
"He wants to design X's jetpack using Treble's schematics."  
  
"Oh, okay. So long as he's not designing Reploids, then its probably fine."  
  
"Hey, boy!" cooed Bass as Treble trotted over to him. "Are you done with him?" he asked as he stood up to face Gate.  
  
"Yes, I think we have everything that we'll need. If we need Treble again, we'll tell you."  
  
"Good. Wait, what's that?" Bass asked as he pointed at a lump under a sheet with a paw sticking out.  
  
Gate stepped to the side to block the paw from view. "Um, remember how I said I wanted to have Reploids use support units again?"  
  
"You didn't . . ."  
  
"We're trying to duplicate the technology, and we needed a basic design. Since we had Treble's schematics, we decided to make the first one in his image."  
  
"God damn it! Who gave you the right to clone my damn dog!"  
  
"As a scientist, I had every right to reproduce technology that can be used for the good of the people."  
  
"How do you know that Wily didn't have a patent?"  
  
"If he did, it would have expired years ago. Besides, that mutt of yours is based on stolen designs, like everything else that Wily built."  
  
"Argh!" Bass yelled, and he fired a volley of plasma at Gate. He dodged out of the way, the F-Buster shots hit the Treble clone. Bass turned and walked out of the room with Treble at his heels. Gate yelled after him.  
  
"You've just set back Reploid technology by at least thirty years! I hope you're happy!" He turned back the ruined wolf on the table. "Well, maybe I can try to recreate the parts without Treble," 


	13. Begin Operation Antivirus

Chapter XIII - Begin Operation Anti-Virus  
  
"Very good, Bass. You're handling flight quite well, considering how little practice you've had."  
  
"As much as I appreciate the comment, now isn't the time for it. There are more important things to worry about than how well I can fly."  
  
"Now your beginning to sound like me."  
  
"No I'm not. You would have said 'There are more urgent matters we need to attend to'." Bass and Doppler were in the simulator. The transfer of Doppler's files to the body was progressing at quite a slow pace, so the doctor took the opportunity to upload himself into the simulator and help Bass train. It had only been about two days, but Bass had already learned the basics of flying as well as how to swiftly change direction in mid-air, emergency maneuvers in case he was attacked, and how to sneak behind Doppler and scare the living daylights out of him.  
  
"Yes, well, it doesn't matter. Your doing well and that's very important right now."  
  
"Why is that?"  
  
"Because we miscalculated the size of Sigma's forces. He already has the power to launch a full scale attack on our base."  
  
"What!" Bass yelled. This was the first that he'd heard about any miscalculations. "I've been watching everything that's happened with Sigma since this project started! I've seen all of the reports on his base! When did he get so many mavericks that he could launch another attack!"  
  
"It was an error on my part," said Doppler. "I forgot to include the fact that his base is in an old factory when I estimated the Reploid production rate."  
  
"Why is it always a factory," said Bass as he landed. "In every Maverick Revolt since the beginning, the've always occupied a factory. I've read the reports from the first wars, I know that Sigma positioned Maverick leaders in every possible area of production. Flame Mammoth, Magna Centipede, Blast Hornet, each in a factory!"  
  
"Actually, Centipede was in a computer core," said Doppler.  
  
"There was a research and development lab in there! That means Reploid building equipment. How could all of you have forgotten that Sigma alwatys has access to a factory!"  
  
"You've only been around for a few months, you shouldn't be yelling at me."  
  
"You're supposed to be a genius! If I had known that we could be killed at moment from the beginning, I would have practiced with these wings a lot more! Simulator, off!"  
  
Bass opened his eyes outside the simulator. Doppler couldn't follow him because he didn't have a body yet. He stormed down the halls the Cain's lab.  
  
"Cain! I'm going after Sigma. Doppler told me about the size of Sigma's forces. There's no time to lose."  
  
"Bass, your not ready! You can't go yet," said Cain. He grabbed onto Bass' arm. Bass pulled away from the scientist.  
  
"Get off, old man. I have to do this now and you know it. Just give me a copy of the anti-virus."  
  
"Fine, I understand. Put this disc in Treble, he'll be able to carry the anti-virus without it being detected. Get it in Sigma's system as soon as possible. You'll be able to communicate with us using you transmitter, just be sure you're in a place where it can't be detected. Tell us when to mount our attack. Bass, one more thing."  
  
Bass had began to walk out of the room. He stopped at the door and turned to Cain.  
  
"Good luck, you'll be needing it."  
  
Bass ran up to the roof and activated his transmitter. X and Zero were on the other side, in the control room. "Can you guys here me?"  
  
"Yeah, Bass. Loud and clear," said X.  
  
"Cain has given us the AOK on the mission," said Zero, "Are you ready?"  
  
"Ready as I'll ever be," Bass responded.  
  
"Okay, activate Boost unit," Zero said.  
  
"Got it, Zero. Treble Boost!" The sounds coming through the transmitter in the control room told them that Bass had transformed.  
  
"Hey, can we have cool code names on this mission?," asked X.  
  
"Stop fooling around, this is serious," Zero answered.  
  
"Fine, But I want you guys to call me Raptor for the remainder of this mission," said X  
  
"How about Dodo?" remarked Bass with a laugh.  
  
"Shut up, X. Bass, you have green light for launch."  
  
"Okay Zero, I'm gone." The engines in Bass' wings roared to life and he took to the skies. He flew about a mile off shore then contacted X and Zero again. "Zero, I need the coordinates for Sigma's base."  
  
"34 degrees, 18 minutes West; 40 degrees, 58 minutes North," Zero replied.  
  
"Maintain radio silence until you can report on how large Sigma's strike force is," said X.  
  
"Okay, X. Bass out."  
  
"I've always wanted to do that!" Bass heard over the transmitter before the signal cut off. He changed his heading and flew towards the horizon, into the clutches of evil itself. 


	14. Code Names and Video Games

Chapter XIV – Code Names and Video Games  
  
"Damn, this is boring." Bass had been flying over the ocean for hours. So far, he had come across absolutely nothing. He was thinking of radioing in back to H.Q. just so he could hear another voice other than his own. "Hell, there's no reason why I shouldn't. H.Q., can you hear me?"  
  
Nothing.  
  
"H.Q., are you there?"  
  
Still nothing. Bass sighed. He knew someone was there, there always was, and there was only one person who could possibly ignore his signal during a mission.  
  
"I might as well feed his ego. Raptor, are you there?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm here," replied X from the transmitter on Bass' wrist. "Why didn't you contact me earlier?"  
  
"You know damn well that I did. Why the hell didn't you answer before?"  
  
"Because you didn't use the code name."  
  
"You don't need a bloody code name! It's not like there's anyone else I'd be speaking to!"  
  
"What if you're trying to contact use once you reach Sigma's fortress? He'd know what was going on as soon as he heard you start sending messages to myself or Zero."  
  
"That's why I'm not going to send messages unless it's absolutely necessary, dumbass. Now tell me if I'm on course or not."  
  
"Why should I, after you've just insulted me?"  
  
"Dammit, X, if don't tell me right now . . ." Bass stopped. He could hear another voice through the transmitter.  
  
"What are you doing, X?"  
  
"Nothing. Nothing at all, Zero. Why do you ask?"  
  
"I can see strait through you, X. You've been bugging Bass about the stupid code name, right?"  
  
"Um . . ."  
  
"Bass, what do you need"  
  
"Finally, someone who listens," muttered Bass. "Can you tell me if I'm on course?"  
  
"Yeah, hold on a second," said Zero. After a few seconds of quiet clicking, he replied, "You're off by about twenty miles. See if there's a place where you can stop and recharge."  
  
"There is no place, I'm in the middle of the ocean!"  
  
"Then find some shallow water. You're bound to run out of energy soon. Zero out."  
  
"Wait a minute! Dammit!"  
  
After a few minutes flying, Bass started wobbling a bit. "Hold on, boy," said Bass as he patted his back. "Just a little farther." His jetpack made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a whine, then gave out. Bass started falling.  
  
"Aah! Wake up, Treble, or you'll kill us both!" Yelled Bass as he smacked his back. The turbines on the jetpack started spinning again, and Bass slowed to a halt a few feet from the water. The force of the air being propelled by the engines of the pack pushed away the water from beneath Bass, revealing solid ground. With a lurch, the engines gave out again, And Bass fell to the ground, which was promptly covered with water again.  
  
Bass stood up. The water seemed to be about waist deep. Treble disconnected from his back and splashed down in the water. He lifted his nose above the water, though there was no need for him to breath, being a Reploid.  
  
"We must have landed on a coral island. Probably at high tide," Bass observed as he looked around and saw nothing but water in all directions. Treble gave a garbled bark of agreement. Bass sat down, leaving only his head above the water, then completely submerged himself. Under the surface, he could see the terrain without distortion. The island they were on was circular, and had a lagoon in the center. In the wall of the lagoon was a cave that seemed to clear-cut to be natural. He decided to explore the cave ass soon as the water level down.  
  
Bass sat up again and started thinking of a way to pass the time until low tide. Searching though his databanks, he found that much of the information from the past fifty years had been recorded by Doctor Cain, as well as recreational programs archived though the ages. Figuratively flipping through the files, he found a folder entitled "MegaMan," and inside it were a number of programs in numerical order. 'I suppose these were the games X mentioned while I was half-concious' though Bass, as he opened a random one. The logo of the company was displayed, then the title screen appeared. A block that was shown had several holes punched in it, then a blue blast tore away the remains to show the main menu. Bass gasped, then chuckled when pictures of MegaMan and the original Bass scrolled up next to the menu. 


	15. Another Ally

NOTE TO READERS – Dragon is mine! You can't have him. Unless you ask permission, that is. The same goes for Nall.  
  
APOLOGY TO BOB AND GEORGE FORUM-GOERS – If I used you to fill the capsules, please don't get angry. And please don't bug me to say that you're not a Light-Bot, because I know most of you aren't  
  
Chapter XV – Another Ally  
  
Treble was barking. Bass, was thoroughly engrossed in the video game, which he later found was called "RockMan and Forte," though he couldn't understand where the names came from. He snapped out of his trance when Treble finally bit his elbow. He glared at Treble, then saved the game and shut down the program.  
  
"What, is it, Treble," asked Bass as he rubbed his elbow. The wolf started jumping around, then dug in the sand. "What's that supposed to mean?" he said, then realized that for him to see Treble dig, then the water level must have dropped. "Oh, thanks boy. I probably would have missed the tide." He started to climb down into the lagoon, which drained though a hole in one of the walls, then walked over to the cavern entrance. Now that he could see is up close, Bass saw that it was in fact a man-made tunnel. It seemed to be an elevator shaft, though the elevator was nowhere to be found, and the shaft was full of water, as there was no place for it to drain.  
  
Bass peered down the shaft. The bottom was too deep to see with the water interfering. He turned to Treble and said, "Stay up there," pointing at the edge of the lagoon where they had been before. "If I don't come back by the next low tide, call for help."  
  
Treble tilted his head, then turned and jumped back to where they had been. Bass looked down the shaft, then jumped.  
  
As he fell down the shaft, Bass set his Buster down to a flashlight. However, since his Buster was not meant to hold a steady charge, he ended up with a strobe light rather than a normal flashlight. 'Better that nothing, I guess,' thought Bass, as he continued down the shaft. He hit the bottom with a jolt. Looking up, Bass saw that the entrance was still within sight, so it would be possible to jump most of the way out and climb the rest. His light showed a corridor heading west, so he went the only possible direction.  
  
Bass' mind wandered as he traversed down the corridor. He thought of the robot he encountered in the video game, King (I've got to look up that one), and of the bizarre relationship between himself, X, and Zero (If X is the father of all Reploids, than am I the uncle?), and last of all, of the current mission (Sigma. He's done so much harm to the world, how can I hope to defeat him single-handedly?). His worries stopped momentarily when he came to a door. A terminal next to it had the words "Enter Password" followed by a blinking line. Bass entered all manner of passwords, ranging from Apricot to Wily Wars. When none of them works, he kicked the terminal. The screen went out, then came back on with the message "Password: FUTURE Accepted"  
  
The door opened.  
  
Bass walked into an airlock. As the door closed behind him, the water drained out. When all of the water was clear, the inner door opened. Inside the room was a large number of capsules, and on a table was one that was glowing. Bass stepped up to the capsule, and a figure appeared in it.  
  
"Welcome, X. Here I have . . . wait, Bass! What the hell are you doing here!"  
  
"I was on my way to stop Sigma. What are you doing here, Light?"  
  
"Sigma? So you are on X's side?"  
  
"What other side would I be on?"  
  
"Hmm. I suppose I might be able to help you. You know that you are based on MegaMan's designs, and upgraded using X's, correct?"  
  
"Yes, I know that. What does it matter?"  
  
"Since you are almost perfect copies of each other, the upgrade that I had intended to give to X will be compatible with your systems. But . . ."  
  
"But what?"  
  
"This is a Buster upgrade. There was a reason I said 'almost perfect'."  
  
"So what's the problem? He has a Buster, I have a Buster, I don't see anything wrong."  
  
"You were designed with a rapid fire Buster, as opposed to X and MegaMan, who could charge theirs."  
  
"Can't you change it or something?"  
  
"I could, but it would drastically weaken the original upgrade."  
  
"Do it. The worst that could happen is that it won't be compatible."  
  
"Fine," Light sighed as he flickered out for a few moments. The red blinking liht on the capsule seemed to turn orange, and Doctor Light reappeared. "If I've altered it correctly, then this upgrade will allow you to charge your F-Buster like a Mega-Buster. I'm not sure what effects it will have on your rapid fire abilities, so you should enter this capsule with that warning in mind."  
  
Doctor Light disappeared again, leaving them empty capsule still glowing. Bass jumped into the capsule and felt a rush of energy go through him. There was pain as his Buster disassembled itself, then reformed with extra heat syncs and a pulsing line that seemed to flow down the outside of his arm, and spiderwebbed when it reached his Buster. The table that the capsule had been sitting on collapsed, and Bass stumbled out of it. Light reappeared.  
  
"Take care with that weapon, Bass. If you charge it too much, it may overload your system. I have one more thing to help you in the coming battle. You see these pods?"  
  
"Yeah," said Bass as he stepped towards one of them. A still figure seemed to be floating in it.  
  
"Those are some of my other creations. There is enough power left here to revive one of them. Choose wisely, as it may be a while before the others can be woken."  
  
Bass walked past all of them, and eventually stopped at a red one that looked different that the rest. "How about this one?"  
  
"Er, I think it would be a better idea if you chose a different one."  
  
"Why? I like this one,"  
  
"Yes, well, that robot is not mine. It was built one of my colleagues, Doctor Cossack. Ran was revolutionary as far as weaponry went, but as for durability . . ."  
  
"You mean he dies easily?"  
  
"Yes, I suppose you could say that. He's also been programmed to be strongly opposed to capitalism, so it might not be a good idea to bring him into the world anyway."  
  
"Cossack is a Russian name, right?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Bass looked at the others. One was blue with a grey visor (the name plate said 'Phantom'), and another looked like a human with animal ears and a fluffy tail (this one says 'Opollo'). Yet another looked just like MegaMan, but his armor was purple and blue ('Dave'? What type of name is Dave?). Some tanks were larger than others, and the larger tanks held support units along with the robots.  
  
Bass stopped at one more. Inside was a green and white robot. On the shoulder-pad was a picture of a dragon, and the helmet was shaped like the mythical beast's head. The chest was shaped similar to Bass', and at his waist was the hilt of a beam sword. His buster was also shaped like a dragon's head. The support unit next to him was shaped like, of all things, a dragon, though it was white with brown highlights rather than green. Not surprisingly, the name plate on this one read 'Dragon'.  
  
"Doctor Light, I think we've found a winner."  
  
"Oh, you've found Dragon! That was the last robot I finished, other than X, before I died."  
  
"He seems like a good fighter."  
  
"Yes, an excellent warrior. His personality matrix is based off of ProtoMan's, so he'll be calm during battles. Of course, he'll also want to sit on the sidelines, helping occasionally, but I'm sure he can be convinced to fight."  
  
"Well, now that I've seen what else there is," declared Bass, as he glanced at the capsule labeled 'Dave' again, "I think that Dragon would be the best choice."  
  
"I'll start the power transfer now. Goodbye, Bass."  
  
Wires from Light's capsule started glowing, and pulsing currents of energy traveled up to a mess of wires on the ceiling, and eventually to the pod containing Dragon. The pod opened, and the eyes of the green robot slowly opened. "Who are you," said the robot, hopping out of the pod and putting his hand on his sword.  
  
"I'm Bass, and I'm the one who activated you, with the help of the late Doctor Light?"  
  
"You work with Light?"  
  
"In a way, yes."  
  
Dragon eyed Bass suspiciously, "Alright. I'll follow you for now. Come, Nall." The white dragon jumped out of the pod and landed on Dragon's shoulder. It yawned and stretched its feathery wings. Bass walked back into the airlock, with Dragon right behind him. 


	16. Plan B

Chapter XVI – Plan B  
  
A cautious Treble slowly approached the white robot in front of him. Something about the winged creature seemed familiar, and somewhat dangerous. This new support unit seemed oblivious to Treble's presence until he was almost a foot away. Suddenly, Nall spun around and hissed at Treble. The wolf jumped back and barked at Nall. Bass ran over to them.  
  
"Quiet, Treble. He hasn't done anything to you," Bass said. Treble continued to growl. "I'm not asking you to become friends, just put up with him for a while."  
  
Treble glanced up at Bass, walked away, then lay down and continued to growl. Bass walked over to Dragon, who was examining his beam sword. He looked up as Bass approached.  
  
"You've read over that file I gave you," said Bass. It was more of a statement than a question.  
  
"Yes. Sigma seems to have gained quite a reputation in the relatively little time that Reploids have existed. And each time he fought against the humans, MegaMan X was there to stop him."  
  
"And now it's up to his greatest rival to do the job for him."  
  
"What do you mean? From what the file said, you haven't been around long enough to become his rival."  
  
"Don't believe everything you read," Bass chuckled. "The only person alive who has been around longer than me is X. Though Zero comes in at a close third."  
  
"As old as X . . ." reality suddenly dawned on Dragon as he pulled out his beam sword. "You're a Wily-Bot!" The stream of plasma that composed the blade was silver in color, and seemed to be in the shape of a knight's sword, rather that the usual round beam.  
  
"Put that thing away," said Bass. "I work for neither Wily nor Light. They are both long dead. The only sides that exist now are those that want to save humanity, and those who want to destroy it."  
  
Dragon studied Bass for a few seconds, then said, "That is the most melodramatic piece of bull I've heard in my entire life."  
  
"Of course it is," retorted Bass. "It's the only piece of melodramatic bull you've heard. And you'll be hearing a lot more of it once you meet Sigma. Oh, shit."  
  
"What is it?" asked Dragon, mildly concerned.  
  
"I'm supposed to be flying solo on this mission. Now that you're here, it'll screw up the mission plan."  
  
"Why don't I just come with you? I could probably hide among the Mavericks under the alias 'DragonMan', don't you think?"  
  
"No, that wouldn't work. The suffix 'Man' has never been given to a Reploid. There was some controversy over it when custom Reploids started being produced for the Hunters."  
  
"Why would they argue about a thing like that?"  
  
"I don't know. Humans are just like that sometimes. Apparently, they thought that since Reploids were basically just mechanical humans, they should be made to emulate both genders. Almost all of the Hunters are animal shaped, and tend to have two names, like Armored Armadillo, or Crush Crawfish."  
  
"I still look enough like a Dragon that I could get away with it."  
  
"You look like a normal Hunter with a dragon shaped helmet. It doesn't count."  
  
Dragon turned to look at the support units, who were now circling each other. "Nall," he called, and the white dragon took to the air and flew over to the two Reploids. This was perfect timing, as Treble had just tried to attack Nall. Nall hovered at eye level while Dragon stared at him. As if he could read Dragon's mind, Nall latched onto his back and the two began the all too familiar transformation process. After the glowing died down, Bass saw the results of his companion's metamorphosis.  
  
Dragon had changed color, becoming the white and gold of his support unit. Nall's head was perched on Dragon's left shoulder, and his tail wound around Dragon's right leg. Dragon's helmet had retreated slightly into the chest plate, and the collar had risen so that it looked like an actual dragon's head. The beam sword was embedded in his right wrist, so that he could use it and the Buster on his left hand at the same time. Nall's wings were positioned in the middle of Dragon's back, and had enlarged so that they were as big as he was. The wings had seemed feathery on Nall, but enlarged, they were smoother with a feathered pattern.  
  
Bass whistled in disbelief. "Okay, now you could pass as a Maverick."  
  
"I thought that this might help. I take it that you undergo a similar transformation when you combine with your support unit?"  
  
"Um, I suppose so. I don't turn into a wolf or anything, though."  
  
"Since I'm already like this, we might as well leave now."  
  
"Got it," Bass said, turning to Treble, who was sleeping peacefully as the water started to rise above his paws. "Treble!" The wolf shot up and started running towards Bass. When he was a few yards away, Bass completed the command. "Boost!"  
  
Within a minute, the two Reploids were on their way. 


	17. The Face of Evil

APOLOGY TO BOB AND GEORGE FORUM-GOERS – Sorry, Snot Man. When I tried to think of an odd robot, you were the first, and only, thing I could think of. Also, I used MetBoy's signature without even realizing it  
  
Chapter XVII – The Face of Evil  
  
Bass could see the factory in the distance. It spawned some odd questions, though.  
  
"Dragon, you there?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm here. What is it?" The two were flying a few miles apart to avoid being detected.  
  
"Why would there be a factory in the middle of an ocean?"  
  
"It's probably some sort of deep-sea mining station. The equipment could easily be converted from making mining equipment to making Reploids."  
  
"Oh."  
  
The two flew in silence for a while, then Bass spoke up again.  
  
"You'll need a name."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You will need to think of a Maverick name. Just 'Dragon' isn't enough."  
  
"How about 'White Dragon'?"  
  
"Nah, that's too simple. What about 'Silver Dragon'?"  
  
"And that's any better? I suppose it should relate to my abilities in this form."  
  
"Well then, what can you do?"  
  
"I can use Nall's head as a cannon for blasting out mini-tornados."  
  
"That's it! We can call you 'Wind Dragon'."  
  
"That sounds pretty good. And it makes enough sense."  
  
"Now that that problem is solved, we need to figure out how to get in," Bass said. Surely they couldn't go in together, but Bass needed an excuse to know why the base was there.  
  
"I could claim to be returning after doing reconnaissance, and you could say that you were following me."  
  
"Fine. You know, you don't seem much like ProtoMan."  
  
"Why should I force myself to emulate someone else's personality? I changed my program as I saw fit while in the capsule."  
  
"I thought you were offline in there."  
  
"No, more like a deep sleep. I could sense time going by, but everything seemed far away. I took the opportunity to change myself from what the eccentric doctor wanted me to be."  
  
"Eccentric?"  
  
"It's a state of mind that occurs in many humans when they get old."  
  
"I know what it means, but how was Doc Light a mad scientist?"  
  
"He would build robots on a whim. If he got an idea into his head, no matter how absurd, he would try to build it. I'm sure you noticed 'Snot Man' and 'Toaster Man' while you were browsing through robots. For some reason, he programmed into us, or at least me, what we were based on.  
  
"Whether it was some cruel joke, or that he was trying to prove he could make a robot from anything, I'll never know. I'm probably one of the lucky ones."  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Bass was eager to hear about his creator's greatest rival, as well as his new companion.  
  
"I was based on various games that Light played. You can tell from my support unit that he enjoyed playing Lunar. That's also where he got the design for my beam sword. Modeled after the best sword from that game. The whole 'Dragon Knight' concept came from his time as an avid Dungeons and Dragons player. Compared to the ones like Snot Man, I got off easy."  
  
"Look at some of Wily's 'bots. What kind of name is Metal Man? They're all made of metal!"  
  
The conversation about oddly-named robots continued for a while, until they started to see guard Reploids. Bass warned Dragon of this, and told him to keep radio silence. However, Dragon found that he had to comment on one thing:  
  
"They've got Mets with jetpacks!"  
  
It had been about twenty minutes since Dragon went into the complex. As he hadn't gotten a distress call yet, Bass decided now was the best time to make his move. He flew towards the hanger, and got stopped by one of the flying Mets.  
  
"Halt! What is your business in this facility?"  
  
"Tell your superiors that Wily sent me, Top Hat."  
  
The Met gave a snort of disgust, then flew into the hanger. A few minutes later, someone in ride armor came out. The jets on the armor activated, and it flew towards Bass. The pilot of the ride armor had navy blue armor, and a helmet with a black T-slit on it. A red light was glowing from one half of the T, and the Maverick's shoulder cannon was humming menacingly.  
  
"What do you know of Wily?" asked the Maverick.  
  
"There's no way the leader of this operation would come out into a possible trap," said Bass. With the utmost contempt, he added, "Go tell him to let me in, and not to send his proxies to do his work for him."  
  
"Listen, you pile of scrap metal," growled the Maverick, "If you don't tell me what you have to do with Wily, I'll blow you to bits right here."  
  
Bass, who thought it best to act like his original self did, had been charging his Buster. When the Maverick finished, Bass raised his arm and sent a blast of plasma into one of the blasters on the ride armor. The heat syncs on the Buster not only stopped his systems from immediately overloading, but for some reason the also reduced the recoil. The ride armor, however, was sent flying backwards. The blue Maverick started cursing, and flew back to the hanger. The Met returned and beckoned Bass to enter the mining base.  
  
Everything was oddly quiet. Treble was anxious, expecting a battle. The Reploids around him made no sound, other than their footsteps on the hard metal floor. Nobody they passed said anything to them. The silence was getting to him, so he started playing music from one of the video games. Since he had no actual speakers, only he could hear the music, which was for the best anyway. They eventually came to an elaborately designed door and stopped. Voices could be heard from inside, and Bass turned off the music to hear them better. One sounded familiar, though it could have been that the door was muffling it to the point where it could sound like any voice, but the other was distinctly different, though in what way Bass couldn't fathom.  
  
The door opened, and Dragon walked out. He glanced at Bass and gave him a wink, probably to show that everything was okay. Bass walked in to the room, and the door closed behind him., leaving him in pitch dark. He spoke to the darkness.  
  
"Are you always this melodramatic?" asked Bass, "I'm sure your lackeys get tired of it quickly, or if they don't than MegaMan does."  
  
The lights in the room turned on. The only figure in the room was a Reploid sitting on a raised platform. Even though he was sitting, Bass could tell that this robot was at least eight feet tall. The bald Reploid had dull blue gems for eyes, and a bright red crystal housed his control chip. Bass knew instantly who this Maverick was, and had to fight down his urge to throw up, though how he, being a robot, could throw up was not important. The Blue Maverick from the ride armor was standing at his side. Treble started to growl at them.  
  
"The great Sigma, I presume?"  
  
"So you must be that rogue Wily-Bot," declared the giant, ignoring Bass' comment. "The one that wasn't destroyed at Wily's death. What brings you here?"  
  
"It's my duty to make sure that MegaMan is eradicated. I will not rest until I put an end to the cause of my creator's difficulties," said Bass. 


	18. Friendly Fire

Chapter XVIII – Friendly Fire  
  
'Damn, I hope he believes this crap' Bass thought nervously. Sigma seemed to be thinking over Bass' last answer. After what seemed like an eternity, Sigma started laughing.  
  
"You are just like my loyal general here, Vile," said Sigma, indicating the blue Maverick. "Both of you want to destroy X, though for different reasons. Perhaps I could find a use for you after all."  
  
"Nobody uses me," Bass hissed, raising his Buster towards Sigma. I came here because I thought you could be of use to me.  
  
Vile's shoulder cannon started to hum, but a look from Sigma made him power it down. "Is that so, robot? You know my name, but you obviously don't know who I am. An ancient piece of machinery like yourself stands no chance against me, the most advanced Reploid on the face of the planet."  
  
"I seem to recall that a certain blue robot has defeated you . . . how many times?"  
  
"You're obviously the original Wily-Bot. Only he would program a robot to not shut up when it's in his best interest."  
  
"Of course I'm the original. Who actually remembers Bass in this day and age? Wily and his Robot Masters have become nothing more than a myth."  
  
"You have a point. Now what should prevent me from destroying you right now." Vile started to charge his cannon. "If you are who you claim you are, then you pose a threat to my rule."  
  
"I'm not interested in megalomaniacal fantasies. As long as I am the one to destroy MegaMan, then I'll be content to let you play the leader. You known that I am a valuable ally."  
  
Sigma thought over Bass' words. 'Surely, he is not powerful enough to fight me. X may have been able to, but Wily's creations were always sup- par to Light's.'  
  
"Agreed. If you work under my command, then I will make sure that you will be the one to destroy X."  
  
Vile, whose cannon was still charged, turned to Sigma. "But Master, you have already granted me that right. I have waited for a long time to rid myself of that pest."  
  
"Our friend here has been waiting longer than you have. Be content that if he fails, then you will get your chance. I thought that being destroyed twice would make you more eager for someone else to weaken X first, not less."  
  
"My impatience grows with each passing moment, every moment that X still walks the earth!" growled Vile. He fired his charged cannon at a wall, then stormed out of the room.  
  
"I hope all your lackeys aren't as high-strung as that pyro," said Bass.  
  
"Most of my 'lackeys' won't do anything unless ordered. The area commanders, though, are a different story. You could probably find them in the recreation room."  
  
Bass left the room. Obviously, the recreation room was from before the Maverick occupation, and must now be an officer's lounge. Bass walked around for a minute before realizing that he had no idea where the rec. room was. He knew it would be useless to ask one of the zombies walking around. He thought that a room for miners that are off-duty might be closer to the surface. And sure enough, a sign on one of the higher levels pointed the way to the rec. room.  
  
The recreation room had been converted from it's original use to something more along the lines of a target range. Some of the walls had been knocked down, and at the far and of the now huge room were a bunch of Mets, lined up. The Mavericks seemed like an interesting bunch. There were a variety of animals and elements represented, though of what purpose they could have had before they joined Sigma's ranks were sometimes confusing. The leader of the undersea division was an otter that had apparently been designed to help clean oil spills. Sometimes it was easier. The electronics expert was humanoid in appearance, and the arctic captain was a polar bear. Surprisingly, Dragon was among them, still in his super adapter. Bass decided to ignore him, because it might cause trouble if the ancient robot was friends with a relatively new Maverick.  
  
Bass walked up to a pile of scrap that was acting as a low wall for the target range. He fired four shots, and each hit a Met, knocking them off the far platform. The Mets immediately climbed back up, obviously not programmed to do anything but be shot at all day. Bass had already had enough practice shooting in his normal form. He whistled at Treble, who seemed to know what was going on and dived into Bass' back without the command. The transformation attracted the attention of the Mavericks, who all stared at the Black and purple Reploid. Dragon walked over to him.  
  
"Damn. What type of trick was that? Where'd your dog go?" Dragon must have been playing stupid. He could see that they other Mavericks were going to ask the same thing.  
  
"That would be some very old technology," answered Bass. "Technology that makes me infinitely more powerful than any of you."  
  
"I beg to differ," replied Dragon. "I bet I could kick your ass in a match."  
  
'Dammit,' Bass thought. 'This idiot must have established himself as a hotshot among these guys.' "Fine, I'll take you up on that. You'll be sorry that you are fighting the most powerful robot to walk the earth."  
  
"Is that so?" Dragon smirked as he said it. "Stronger than Sigma himself? Why aren't you in charge then?"  
  
'This must be why Sigma didn't want me claiming that. Now those Mavericks think that much less of me.' "Because I'm not interested in taking over the world, simpleton. My only goal is to destroy MegaMan."  
  
Dragon's eye twitched when Bass said that, so he winked to reassure Dragon that he was only putting on a show. "Hah. Strong words. We'll see who's stronger. Come on, guys."  
  
Bass, Dragon, and the assorted Mavericks went out of the rec. room. From where Dragon was leading them, it seemed like they were headed back to Sigma. Sure enough, they were at the fancy doors. Dragon knocked loudly. The door swung open.  
  
"Who dares disturb my private sanctum!" bellowed Sigma.  
  
"Cut the crap, Baldy," said Bass. "This twerp over here thinks he could beat me in a fight. I need your permission to knock some sense into him." Bass realized that he was slipping more easily into the role of a cocky Maverick. If he wasn't careful, his original programming might take over.  
  
"You wish to fight with my newest captain? Go ahead; it has been too long since I last saw a battle between Reploids."  
  
The top level of the complex was open to the air, which provided a suitable place for the challenge. Many of the Mavericks had gathered to watch, as most were becoming restless from the lack of any action. Sigma was behind an energy shield, so that he would not be damaged by stray shots, or a riot. A large circle had been cleared, and Bass and Dragon were facing each other from opposite sides. Treble was standing on the side lines, much to the surprise of the crowd. If Bess was supposed to be strongest when merged with the wolf, why was he not now?.  
  
'What the hell were you thinking, Dragon,' Bass thought. The last thing he wanted was to draw attention to himself. He started charging his Buster, then dashed around the edge of the circle. Dragon fired a tornado, and Bass got caught in it. Rising into the air, he used his dash thrusters to maintain a balance while the winds tried to flip him around. Bass suddenly activated his dash, and zoomed out of the storm. He fired a charged blast at Dragon, and followed up with a volley of normal shots. His opponent deftly dodged the attack, and fired his own Buster. The shot missed, and hit one of the Mavericks waiting outside of the arena. He flew backwards, and dropped his weapon, a beam sword.  
  
Bass dashed towards Dragon, his legs moving similarly to those of a person roller blading. Dragon jumped to avoid a collision, and Bass took the opportunity to fire into his back. Dragon lost control over his jump and fell flat on his face. Bass walked over the Dragon and pointed his Buster at him.  
  
"Do you yield?" asked the black Reploid. He may have to act cocky, but he didn't want to kill his friend. The crowd was silent; amazed that one who was supposed to be ruthless could be letting his opponent go free. Dragon got onto his ands and knees, and grinned.  
  
"No," he said, activating his beam sword and swinging it so that it sliced off some of the heat syncs on the F-Buster. Bass stumbled backwards, clutching his gun. The crowd started cheering, since the battle wasn't yet over. Sigma was frowning, as Bass seemed weakened against this Reploid.  
  
Bass looked at Dragon, and dashed away. Dragon gave chase, and Bass lead him around the battlefield. He remembered seeing the beam sword fall from the Maverick that was damaged. He made a sharp u-turn, and Dragon went flying past. Bass ran over to the fallen sword and activated it just in time the block a blow from Dragon. The white beam of Bass' sword clashed against the silver one of Dragon's. The two started swinging their weapons at each other, and seemed to get nowhere. They were equally matched.  
  
Sigma wasn't frowning anymore, though he was still upset at Bass' offer for surrender. With the fighting continuing on, he wondered whether he had either underestimated Dragon, or overestimated Bass. He was distracted from his thoughts when he heard the clash of the swords nearby. Bass and Dragon had managed to work their way over to Sigma.  
  
'That's what he wanted!' thought Bass. 'We're close enough to Sigma that we might be able to attack him without looking like we meant to.'  
  
While Bass was distracted, Dragon knocked Bass' hand hard with the flat of his sword. For it the have a safe side as well as an attacking side meant that Light must have understood the plasma technology very well. The white beam sword flew towards Sigma, bouncing off of the energy shield and giving him quite a shock. Now unarmed, Bass hopped backwards and ducked as Dragon slashed at him again. While he was close to the ground, Bass swung out his leg and kicked his opponent. The white Reploid fell on his back, and Bass jumped forward and grabbed his forearm. With Dragon's beam sword against his own neck, Bass asked again, "Do you yield?"  
  
"Yes," Dragon, stated calmly.  
  
Sigma warped out of the energy shield and onto the battlefield. "Well? Aren't you going to finish him off?"  
  
"Why should I?" replied Bass, backing up and letting Dragon stand. "Is there a need to destroy my allies, when it would be easier to kill my enemies when they are still alive?"  
  
"A warrior and a philosopher, an interesting program. I'm impressed by your ruthlessness in battle, but your actions afterwards are not, how should I say it, preferable."  
  
"I repeat, I will not kill my allies if I can help it. I would not offer surrender to an enemy."  
  
"Make sure that you don't," Sigma said as he walked back into the complex. Dragon dusted himself off and said, "Well, that was fun."  
  
"Shut up, you," Bass said as he hit Dragon in the back of the head. "You busted my Buster!"  
  
"That's not funny."  
  
"It was worth a shot." 


	19. Caught in the Act

Chapter XIX – Caught in the Act  
  
Things had been going well. After about a week, Bass had discovered that a fortress was being built for Sigma, and that the attack would take place within the next month. This would mean that Sigma's fortress was either complete or very near to it. Reports from Dragon showed that the other Mavericks knew when the attack was, but had no idea that Sigma was building a stronghold. Most thought that the project was some sort of super cannon, while others thought it was a device that would upload the Sigma Virus to every computer on earth. There were also rumors that Sigma would be replacing Vile with Bass, and Vile did seem more hostile than usual.  
  
Dragon had been promoted from captain of an air unit to commander of the entire air force. Sigma obviously preferred people who could fight well to lead his army than people he knew. That must be the reason that Vile still holds such a high position.  
  
Bass had managed to stay a loner in the eyes of his peers. Every day, he would go to the rec. room with Treble and practice his three-way shot. He was getting pretty good at it. Dragon always seemed to be merged with Nall, though there was no way to know if that would somehow damage his internal systems.  
  
His Buster had been repaired, though it took longer than expected because the repair bots ddid not understand how it worked. After a misfire during repairs, three of the repair bots were nothing more than heaps of slag, and Bass was told to do the repairs himself. Surprisingly, the only thing that needed to be done was to reconnect to coolant tubes and weld on the syncs.  
  
He'd continued playing 'Rockman and Forte' and had become rather good at the game. He still couldn't reach King, though. Stupid tank . . .  
  
He was transmitting the reconnaissance data to Hunter H.Q. when one of the Mavericks came in.  
  
"What are you doing?" asked the robot. Bass turned around from the console he was sitting at. It was a Metic, a Met built for use in the infirmary. What it was doing here was anyone's guess. "Are you authorized to send outside transmissions?" chirped the Metic. "Master Sigma doesn't want anyone to reveal our position!"  
  
"Quiet, Met," said Bass, "unless you want to become cannon fodder."  
  
The Met squealed in surprise, and skittered out of the room. Treble chased after it. Bass quickly finished his message, sent it, and chased after them. By the time he found Treble, the wolf was barking at a door that the Metic must have gone through. A door with ornate carvings on it.  
  
"Is there a particular meaning, Bass," asked Sigma, "that you are sending messages to someone who is not part of our little group?"  
  
"My reasons are my own. I need not explain myself to the likes of you, Baldy," Bass said firmly.  
  
"Oh but you must," Sigma growled, standing up and advancing on Bass. "You see, we traced that little message of yours. And it seemed to be directed at to a certain 'Maverick Hunter X'. Do you think that you could explain that?"  
  
'Dammit, dammit, dammit!' thought Bass. 'I should have locked that door!' It was too late, though. Sigma leaped at Bass, a mace forming in his hand.  
  
"Die, traitor!" screamed Sigma as he brought the mace crashing down. Bass dashed to the side next to his support unit.  
  
"Treble, the disk!" ordered Bass. The CD containing the antidote was ejected from behind Treble's head. Bass grabbed it and ran around behind Sigma while Treble leapt at his face. Sigma grabbed the wolf and threw him against the wall, crushing his back legs. Bass had managed to jump onto Sigma's back during this, and was riding piggy-back as he tried to get the disk into Sigma's system. Sigma jerked his head to throw off Bass, and the disk, which was a third of the way into Sigma's input slot, shattered. Bass was thrown against one of the walls, and stood up in time to see Sigma standing over him, the mace swinging down . . .  
  
"What was that commotion?" asked Vile as he ran into the private chamber.  
  
"Sounded like a battle of some sort," answered Dragon. The two had been playing pool using a table with Met helmets bolted to the side to serve as holes. When they heard Sigma roar, they, and a bunch of other Maverick, ran to see what was going on. The door was open to Sigma's lair, so they didn't bother stopping. Dragon stifled a gasp at what he saw. Laying against one wall, with half of his body crushed, was  
  
Treble. Against another wall was Bass, his upper torso completely severed from his legs. Sigma picked up the two pieces of Bass, on in each hand.  
  
"This is what happens to traitors," said Sigma. "This Reploid was working in secret for the Maverick Hunters, and sent information regarding our invasion to them. We are beginning our attack immediately, before those fools at Maverick Hunters can prepare. You!" Sigma looked at Dragon. "Next to Vile and this lump of slag, you are the most powerful. You will carry these corpses to Maverick Hunter, both as a lesson to them not to send spies, and a lesson to you not to try anything against me."  
  
"Yes, sir," said Dragon as the chunks of Bass and Treble's body were tossed at his feet.  
  
"You won't be able to carry those," said Sigma, "So I will provide you with ride armor."  
  
"Wes, sir," Dragon again replied. A quiet whimpering came from his feet. Dragon glanced down and saw that Treble's eyes were half open. Dragon gently put his foot on Treble's muzzle to stifle the wolf and to keep anyone from hearing it. When Sigma finished his speech to the rest of the Mavericks, Dragon picked up Treble and slung him over his shoulder, while Vile picked up Bass' parts.  
  
"What a pity," said Dragon, "That a creature not smart enough to do anything but follow his master's command receives the same punishment as the his master."  
  
"Yes, it is a pity," said Vile. "But anything loyal to the enemy is an enemy to us, even if they don't know any better."  
  
On the way to the hanger, they came across a room that had been altered to serve as Reploid production. A Metic was having a body attached to it. At the hanger, the ride armor was waiting. This one was designed to haul cargo. The cargo pod could be dropped for increased speed and maneuverability in an emergency. Vile dropped Bass into the cargo pod, and Dragon laid Treble in more gently. Vile tipped his head, then walked off, and Dragon jumped into the cockpit of the ride armor and powered it up. It began to hover, and Dragon directed it out of the hanger, to the place he had only heard of: Maverick Hunter H.Q. 


	20. Return to Sender

NOTE TO READERS – Okay, so I'm stealing characters from people. It's not like it hasn't been done before, and it adds to the story for them to exist in this universe.  
  
Chapter XX – Return to Sender  
  
X and Zero were in the control center. Bass was due to send a report today, and the two were restless from waiting there. Zero had taped a documentary: Weaponry Through the Ages: Swords, and X wanted to get back to studying news articles. He'd been collecting anything that mentioned Light, Wily, or the original MegaMan. The console started flashing, and it gave a quick series of beeps. X rushed over to it and opened the file. Quickly scanning the contents, he let Zero take a look.  
  
"So he's building another fortress?" observed Zero.  
  
"Apparently so. He's always so predictable about these things," said X. The console beeped again.  
  
"Another one?"  
  
"What would he have found so quickly that he couldn't have sent it in the last message?"  
  
Zero opened the file. It wasn't from Bass, however, but from someone who claimed to be an ally.  
  
"What is it? What did he find?" asked X.  
  
"He's been found out, and Sigma deleted him," Zero said softly. "They caught him sending that message."  
  
"What!" yelped X. "They couldn't have, we took every precaution!"  
  
"There's another Reploid who's posing as a Maverick to monitor Sigma. He's bringing Bass' body, as well as Treble's," Zero continued. "He says that he cannot leave the ride armor that he pilots for fear that Sigma will know he was seen. He'll drop the cargo pod, then leave."  
  
"What are we going to do now? We don't know what Sigma's capable of!" whined X. He wasn't taking the well at all.  
  
"Treble is still alive, and it might be possible to repair Bass' body. This Reploid said that Sigma is prepping his main attack force right now. It might be a day or two, though, but he doesn't say why."  
  
"How can we rebuild him if he was deleted?" asked X.  
  
Zero turned around to look at X. He was annoyed, and it showed on his face. "I was deleted, X. Remember? And I turned out just fine."  
  
"Yeah, but you're different."  
  
"No I'm not. Both of us are Wily-Bots. Since we don't have to collect Bass' parts, it should be a lot easier for Cain to repair him. And it looks like Treble just needs a new frame."  
  
"X, Zero," said Douglas through a radio. "There a single ride armor unit coming this way, Maverick build. What should we do?"  
  
"Leave it alone, that's an operative who infiltrated Sigma's forces."  
  
"Bass?"  
  
"Not exactly"  
  
The ride armor floated down and hovered about a foot off the ground. The pilot couldn't be seen, but he used his comm. system to tell them what Sigma said, and added that he'd give them updates on what was going on if at all possible. He disconnected the cargo pod, then rose up and flew off into the horizon. Douglas opened the pod, with X and Zero behind him. X gasped, Zero swore, and the repair Reploid simply stared at it. Treble was opening his eyes a little then closing them, his back half crushed. Bass was in two pieces, and the bottom of the pod was covered in coolant fluid. Bass' helmet had fallen off, and his dark red hair was sopping up the coolant.  
  
"Get these two to Doctor Cain!" yelled Zero. A bunch of medical Reploids came over and picked up the damaged robots. X looked back into the cargo pod, reached in, and pulled out Bass' helmet. Glancing at the finned headgear, X noticed that inside of the helmet was carved the letters 'DRLITDOC.MOV'. He showed it to Zero.  
  
"What do you think those are?" asked a perplexed X.  
  
"Well, I can't be sure, but the '.mov' at the end makes me think that it's a file of some sort. It looks a bit like Bass' handwriting, so I'm guessing he put it there."  
  
"Why would he do that?"  
  
"Maybe he found that in his data banks and thought you should see it. His helmet would be the thing least likely to be lost."  
  
"Yeah. I'll check to see if I have that file hidden in my skull somewhere."  
  
"You do that."  
  
X was hooked up to the diagnostic device, and Zero was browsing through various files. Sure enough, the file that Bass had written down was in X's memory banks. Zero copied the file to a disk, and looked at the surrounding files. The one right next to it read 'DRWLYDOC.MOV'. On a hunch, Zero copied that one as well. He shut down the machine and unplugged X. When X woke up, Zero showed him the disk, and they went into the archives to look at the files.  
  
The first one was a documentary on Doctor Light. It showed his lab, his history, and last of all, his robots. X was mesmerized by the computer generated replays of various maneuvers that MegaMan used, as well as the detailed history of his battles against Wily. He also found out about ProtoMan and Roll, his brother and sister. When he saw the two of them, X glanced at Zero and thought that maybe ProtoMan wasn't the only robot he was based on. There were mentions of various lesser robots, Auto, beat, and some prototype robot called 'Abba'.  
  
The other file, as Zero expected, was about Wily. The information on this one was more vague, as there were no real records of what Wily did in his spare time, and nobody knew where his permanent lab was. There was a history of what he did up until he stole Light's first few robots, and after that the only information was about the various other battles. The video mentioned that Wily also experimented in making female robots, and ended up with one that looked like Roll, named Techno, and another that looked more like a girl in Bass' armor. There was no name given for the second one, though X was sure he'd seen that purple armor somewhere before . . .  
  
"How can I have so much stuff crammed into my noggin?" asked X.  
  
Doppler, who had finished uploading into his new body earlier that week, replied, "They say that the average human only uses ten percent of their brain. In your case, that other ninety percent seems to be used for file storage. Light was smart to put records of our past into you. Bass probably has the same files and programs because Wily wanted to make an even match for you, and he didn't know if any of those files had a real purpose other than reference material."  
  
"Okay, so I'm a living encyclopedia. What does that mean for the rest of you?"  
  
"It means absolutely nothing. We just know now that Light entrusted you with the memories of the past."  
  
"Um, okay," X said. He was more concerned about Bass than what in his head. "So how are Bass and Treble doing?"  
  
"After what happened the last time Gate got a hold of Treble, Cain decided it would be best if he repaired the wolf himself. Since he just needed to replace solid parts, Treble was finished in relatively short time. I've been working on Bass, but turned him over to Cain when he finished with Treble. When I gave him up, I had finished repairing his upper torso and fusion generator, and he had regained consciousness. In fact, we had to shut him down to keep him from trying to get up."  
  
"I want to see how he's doing," X declared.  
  
"That may be a problem. I doubt that Cain would want people watching him as he works. Why don't you go play with Treble instead? Since he's already recognized you as a friend, he shouldn't be violent. Though I doubt he'll be as affectionate to you as he is to Bass."  
  
"Okay. Where is Treble?"  
  
"I think that he's on the roof."  
  
"Thanks. Bye Doc!"  
  
Doppler sighed. 


	21. More Flying

Chapter XXI – More Flying  
  
X walked up to the roof. He didn't see Treble at first, but the whining he heard led him to the pining wolf. Treble was lying down, with his hands on his paws, staring at the ocean. X walked up to the wolf and petted him on the head a few times. The wolf looked up at X, then turned back to the ocean and sighed.  
  
"Come on, Treble, cheer up," X said. "Cain is working on Bass right now. He was awake earlier." Treble looked up for a moment at that comment, but still turned back to the ocean. X sighed. He patted the wolf on the head, then walked back to the doorway leading inside. Treble got up and followed X. The blue Reploid turned and watched to wolf approaching him.  
  
'Of course,' X thought. 'Since me and Bass are so similar, he's going to tag along with me until Bass is repaired.' He continued down to the ARR wing. Gate was hunched over something on one of the tables.  
  
"Gate, what are you doing this time?" X called. He surprised the purple scientist, who dropped the fusion welder he was using.  
  
Kneeling down to pick up the tool, Gate said, "I'm using the data from my scan of Treble to make a jetpack for you. Come over here and take a look." He motioned for X to walk over.  
  
On the table was a white and blue pack. Four engines were built into it, and a turbine was embedded in the back. Two arm-like extensions reached up slightly, then down, and the ends had controls on them. X pointed at a small G with a circle around it. "What is that?"  
  
"Oh, that shows that this is one of my creations. I always put it where it's almost impossible to see. If you were wearing this, then it would be hidden by your body," Gate said. He picked it up and attached it to X. "I've managed to get it to hook up to your power generator, but I still can't figure out how you would control like Bass does. The controls come over your shoulders to about the level of your hands. The major controls are on your left side, so that you can still maneuver while using your Buster. The right controls have the more advanced, less used controls, like a turbo boost that will make you accelerate to a higher speed for a short time. To connect it to your generator, hit this button." Gate pushed something halfway up the right control arm. There were a few loud clicks, and the jetpack hummed as it powered up. "I put it there so that you don't accidentally push it during flight. The same button will disconnect it when you're done." He pushed it again, the locks clicked open, and the humming cut off.  
  
"Okay, can I test it?" asked X.  
  
"Yes, of course, go right ahead."  
  
X turned to leave, but Treble, who had been sniffing at things around the lab, had grabbed the end of a sheet and pulled it. Beneath the sheet was a robotic wolf, almost exactly like Treble. It was a darker purple in color, and seemed to be slightly smaller.  
  
"Gate, what is that?" X said as he walked over to the still wolf.  
  
"Oh, that's nothing, nothing at all," Gate said quickly. He ran over and threw the sheet back over the inactive wolf. "I just built a companion for myself, and modeled it to resemble Treble. It's nothing important."  
  
"Okay, Gate. Come on, Treble, we're leaving." X said. The wolf trotted after him.  
  
  
  
X was on the roof. Treble had immediately run to the edge and lay down again. Pressing the button the controls, the pack locked into place and activated. X looked at the left controls. There were three main ones and a button. One control went up and down, which must be altitude. Another went left and right, which X thought would be normal maneuvering. The third was like a little steering wheel. X had no idea what that was for. He pushed the button, which said "ON/OFF" next to it.  
  
The jetpack roared to life, and X lifted about five feet off the ground. He started fiddling with the controls, moving up and down, and strafing left and right. X tested the wheel control, and he started to spin in place. At about twenty feet in the air, X spotted something on the horizon. He leaned forward to see it, and he started moving forward. X realized what caused forward movement, and leaned backwards to compensate. The turbine changed direction, and X moved backwards.  
  
After messing around with the controls a bit longer, X turned his attention back to the object in the distance. A transparent green visor moved down over X's eyes. The distant shadow magnified, and X could see clearly what it was. It looked like a floating citadel, with one main tower jutting out from the center. It was spinning slowly, and the distance monitor showed that it was getting closer.  
  
"Oh no," X said. He turned around and sped back down to the rooftop. Treble looked up at him as he sped though the open doorway. Staying close to the ceiling, X activated his turbo and sped down the corridors. Stopping outside of Cain's lab, X pushed through the door and looked for the old doctor. Cain was working on repairing Bass' legs, while Bas himself was on a table with his eyes closed. Cain turned at the sound of the door opening.  
  
"X?" Cain asked calmly, ignoring the fact that X's sudden entrance has caused various papers to scatter in all directions. He also ignored that X was hovering two feet off the ground.  
  
"Doctor Cain, Sigma's coming!" X said exasperatedly. 


	22. Battle Plans

Chapter XXII – Battle Plans  
  
"Sigma, you say?" asked Cain. "Already?"  
  
"Yes," X said, breathing heavily. "I saw a floating fortress come towards us."  
  
"Hmm, yes, I suppose that would be Sigma, then," Cain said, still unnaturally calm.  
  
"Why aren't you more concerned over this!" yelled X.  
  
"If you were thinking that I was going to run around like a chicken with its head cut off," Cain said sternly, "then you are mistaken. I have much more pressing matters to attend to, including rebuilding Bass, before I'll worry about an attack that won't actually start for at least twelve hours. If you saw it on the horizon, and it really is a fortress, then it would be traveling very slowly."  
  
"Um . . ."  
  
"Now bring me Bass' upper torso," Cain ordered, setting the legs upright. X brought the top half and held it over the legs. Cain knelt down and started connecting wires and servos between the two pieces. "Put him down now, X," Cain said as he pull his hands out from Bass systems. X gently placed Bass' body on his legs, and Cain picked up a small fusion welder and set to work securing it. After a few minutes, and a complete rotation around the black robot, Cain stood up. He grunted in pain as he stood, and put his hand on his side, using the cane to get all the way up.  
  
"X, get me his helmet," Cain directed as he peeled off the artificial skin and hair on Bass' scalp. Running out of the hall, X realized that he still had the jetpack on. He stopped at Gate's lab to tell him about the test, then went back to his room. X glanced at the newspaper clippings that he had pinned up on the walls, grabbed Bass' helm, and ran back to Cain.  
  
  
  
When he got there, Bass was leaning against one of the walls, tapping his foot impatiently. X tossed him the finned helmet, and Bass quickly put it on. "Where's Treble?" he asked.  
  
"On the roof," replied X. "In fact, if my knowledge of the building plans is correct, then he's right above us. Try whistling out the window."  
  
Bass gave X a quizzical look, and walked over to the window. He whistled, and a loud barking could be heard. It got quieter, then louder in the hallways. X opened the door in time for the three to see Treble skittering past, then doubling back and running in to pounce on Bass. Treble barked happily.  
  
"Okay, okay, calm down, Treble," Bass said. He pushed the wolf off of him and stood up. Treble stopped barking and immediately went back to being a quiet, calm, seemingly brooding wolf.  
  
"Bass, can you give us your report?" asked Cain.  
  
"What? Report? Oh, yeah, at Sigma's place. He's building a floating tower, and he'll attack within the month."  
  
"We already knew that, Bass," said an irritated X. "He's headed right for us at this very moment."  
  
"What!?! Oh, no, he must be attacking now so that my info is useless."  
  
"It would appear so," said Cain.  
  
"Well," said Bass, "There's only one thing we can do. We have to attack Sigma right now, before he can reach us."  
  
"That would be a suicide mission!" X said.  
  
"Oh, come on, how many times have you done that so far? It's obviously not a suicide mission, if you are still here."  
  
"Bass is correct," Cain interjected. "We must strike now, while we have the chance. I don't want to risk the lives of the Hunters, so I will assemble a group of the best we have to go in with you."  
  
X said quietly to Bass, "Watch how me and Zero will be the only elite Hunters to go."  
  
"Nah, I'll get to go as well. Plus there's my contact in the base," said the black armored robot.  
  
"Contact? Oh yeah, the guy that brought you here."  
  
"What is this of a contact?" asked Cain. He had overheard the last comment.  
  
"Oh, I found a robot, who was built be Doctor Light, on my way to the mining base. Dragon managed to keep his cover when I was caught, and hopefully he's still in a position of power."  
  
"Another Light-Bot!" exclaimed X. "I thought that I was the only one to survive!"  
  
"Nah, there's a bunch of different robots in a hidden lab I came across. There's just not enough power to activate all of them."  
  
"Wow. I guess I'm not an only child, then."  
  
"Okay, enough joking, X," Bass said, walking out of the room with Treble at his heels. "We need to get Zero."  
  
The red Hunter was in the garage, overseeing modifications to a hover-bike. Wings were being attached to the sides of the bike, and he base of each wing curved so that a person's legs would fit comfortably. Zero turned when he heard X call him.  
  
"Oh, hello X, Bass," said Zero, turning back to the bike.  
  
"Er, what are you doing?" asked Bass, who was staring at the hover- bike.  
  
"You mean with that thing? Gate said that he wouldn't be able to create a flying upgrade for me, because my design is so radically different from either of yours. So, he gave the guys here," Zero pointed over his shoulder at the maintenance crew, "plans to make a flying hover-bike. Ironically, the thing won't be able to hover during flight, so I would have to fly in a circle or something to stay in one spot."  
  
"He must have known about the fortress coming," said X. "But how?"  
  
"Everyone knows. After seeing you rush through the halls like that, quite a few of the Hunters listened in on your conversation with Cain. As soon as Sigma was mentioned, they told every person they could find. Say, where's that rocket pack of yours, anyway?"  
  
"Oh, I left it with Gate. I'll need to get it back."  
  
Bass cut in to their conversation. "Okay, X, Okay, X, you get your jetpack, I'll double check with Cain who's going on this mission, and Zero, you try to get these guys to finish that bike. We meet up here in an hour."  
  
"Why an hour?" asked X. "It won't take that long to get the pack, or for you to talk to Cain."  
  
"X, that bike is not going to be finished in ten minutes," said Zero. "Now go get your pack."  
  
X was back in the ARR wing. Gate was nowhere to be seen, though his lab coat was draped over one of the chairs. The robot wolf was still deactivated, only now it was hooked up to a computer, and was having personality subroutines uploaded. X called out to Gate, but got no answer. Looking around, X saw his jetpack on a table near a machine for modifying Reploids. X had used it to switch armors after his battles with Sigma, as the cumbersome advanced armors were a hassle to wear every day. X picked up the jetpack, and when he got up he saw Gate in the machine.  
  
'I wonder what he's doing,' thought X, as he left the room. 


	23. Attack: Phase One

Chapter XXIII – Attack: Phase One  
  
The modifications to the bike were complete. X, Bass, and Zero were on the roof again, that location chosen because it offered the most direct route to the fortress. Bass had already merged with Treble, and X was double-checking his systems. Zero was mounting his bike. His legs fit neatly into indentations at the bases of the wings.  
  
"You guys ready to go?" asked Zero.  
  
"As ready as I'll ever be," Bass stated, beginning to hover.  
  
"Did anybody tell you you say that way to often?" asked X.  
  
"Not yet. Let's go!" The black Reploid air-dashed off, and X followed suit. Zero revved up his hover-bike and shot off the roof. He fell about four feet before the hover coils kicked in, pushing him upwards and forwards. It wasn't long before he caught up to the others, who had already reached a fair distance.  
  
"I've gotta' give Gate some credit for this thing," Zero yelled at the others. "It works like a charm!"  
  
"Don't jinx it!" Bass replied at an equal volume.  
  
The trio continued on there course, Sigma's base getting larger by the moment. They kept joking until an energy pellet whizzed by X's leg.  
  
"We've got company," warned the Hunter, switching to his Buster. Bass and Zero did the same. A squadron of jetpack-equipped Metools rained plasma pellets down on them. Bass aimed up and opened fire, blasting three at a time with his enhanced F-Buster. X charged up and fired into the unprotected bellies of the Mets. Zero watched them dispose of the helmeted robots. He turned forward again . . . right into the path of a Reploid in Hawk armor.  
  
Zero tried to veer away, but it was too late. He was going to ram the ride armor when figure in gold armor shot down from above; landing on the armor and forcing it down, letting Zero pass safely overhead. The new Reploid launched a plasma sphere into the ride armor's cockpit, then jumped away. He came up alongside of the red Hunter.  
  
The figure in gold had a canine-like air about him. His helmet was similar to Zero's, but the peaks were facing a different direction. Laser claws were on his wrists, and his Buster had peaks on it similar to his helmet. His wings were similar to Bass', and the Reploid's face was familiar to Zero. X came down to see what was going on, and something clicked together for him.  
  
"Gate! What are you doing here?" exclaimed the blue cyber-human.  
  
"I thought that you might need some help," chuckled Gate. "My experiments with integrating the boost ability into modern Reploids appeared successful, so I decided to test it by help you."  
  
"Boost ability?" Bass muttered. "No, he didn't . . . he couldn't . . ." But the signs were too obvious. Gate had gone ahead and built his Treble clone, and used it to duplicate the forgotten technology.  
  
Gate must have caught Bass' words, because he calmly stated, "I could have finished faster, but Bass destroyed all of my work on it. I had to think up a new way to make this work, without Light's research. So while the effect of this new boost is the same, the process involved is different."  
  
"As enjoyable as this little talk is," Zero interrupted, "we've got to do something about that." He motioned towards the fortress, which was now huge in front of them. They could see defense forces being launched. "I think that the best thing to do is to split up. Bass, try to find a way in from the roof of one of the towers. See if there's an air vent. X, you try and sneak in throw the bottom. There's bound to be an entry hatch down there. I'll storm the front, and keep the main defense force busy. Gate, you go ahead and help whoever needs it."  
  
  
  
As he raced through the opposing forces, Bass thought back to what had happened the last time. Cain hadn't thought to remove the memory chips of Bass' death, so the black robot knew the pain that he had experienced, and knew that if he failed again, he wouldn't be brought back. Coming up to the side of one of the towers, Bass turned around so that he was facing away from the complex and bolted upwards. As he went higher, he shot down on his pursuers, as well as Zero's aggressors. After destroying a good many of them, he looked up again. The dark-armored Reploid nearly missed an air vent, and had to double back to reach it. It was too small to fit through, even without the Boost armor. So he continued upwards, without conflict. At the top, all of the towers converged and turned down into a single, large pillar of steel. Strangely enough, or perhaps not so strange, there was a large opening in on the top that he could go down through. Bass landed on the edge and peered down. It was too dark to see the bottom, so he activated his thrusters to slow his descent as he jumped. The visor once again going over his eyes, Bass saw strong infrared emanations from something at the bottom of the pit. As he descended, the blurry heat source came into focus as a large cannon.  
  
"Shit . . ." said Bass, feelings of defeat rushing through him as he realized what Sigma's plan was. 


End file.
